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DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 306 590 CS 211 842

AUTHOR Busching, BeverlyTITLE Handbook for Developing School Writing Programs.INSTITUTION Southeastern Educational Improvement Lab., Research

Triangle Park, NC.SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),

Washington, DC.PUB DATE Mar 89CONTRACT 400-86-0007NOTE 114p.

PUB TYPE Guides - Non-Classroom Use (055)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Curriculum Development; Elementary Secondary

Education; *Program Administration; *ProgramDescriptions; Teaching Methods; Theory PracticeRelationship; Writing Evaluation; *WritingImprovement; *Writing Instruction; Writing Skills

IDENTIFIERS *Process Approach (Writing)

ABSTRACTThe broad context of curriculum planning, staff

development, and administrative decision making is the focus of thishandbook for developing school writing programs. The guidelines andactivities included in this handbook are meant to be suggestive; theideas presented in this handbook will, in most cases, need to beshaped to suit the circumstances and needs of the local site. ThisPandbook presents practical assistance based on the experience of avariety of school districts, large and small, rural and urban. Thehandbook describes a change process that continues over an extendedperiod of time, since the approach taken assumes that in most cases adevelopment project will involve major changes in both curriculum andinstruction. Chapter titles include: (1) "How students learn towrite"; (2) "Development of writing programs"; (3) "Evaluation ofwriting; (4) "Writing in content subjects"; and (5) "Conclusion."(Forty-eight figures are included; and a seven-page bibliography isattached.) (RS)

************************************************************************ Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made* from the original document.**********************************************************************

08-009

HandbookFor Developing

School Writing Programsby Beverly Busching

University of South CarolinaMarch 1989

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3

c. . i

08-009

HandbookFor Developing

School Writing Programsby Beverly Busching

University of South CarolinaMarch 1989

,'at

ContentsChapter 1

How Students Learn To Write 1

Figure 1.1 Principles of Teaching and Learning Writing From BoothbayElementary School 3

Figure 1.2 The Writing Process as Described by Donald Murray 9

Figure 1.3 The Composing Processes of Unskilled and Skilled Writers 11

Figure 14 Oral or Written Interview With Open-Ended Sentences 12

Figure 1.5 Questions for Student Writers 13

Figure 1.6 Audiences for Student Writing 15

Figure 1.7 Publishing Sources for Student Writing, Grades One-Twelve 16

Figure 1.8 Two Samples of Five-Year-Old Writing 17

Figure 1.9 Samples of First Grade Writing in September and October 19

Figure 1.10 First-Grade Informational Writing in Book Format 20

Figure 1.11 First-Grade Personal Narrative Writing in Book Format Typed byChild on Computer 21

Figure 1.12 Second-Grade Personal Narrative Writing With Revisions AfterConference About the Content 22

Chapter 2

Development Of Writing Programs 25

Figure 2.1 Summary of the Elements of Writing Program welopment 28

Figure 2.2 A Comparison of Teacher and Student Behaviors When Writing IsAssigned and When Writing Is Taught 29

Figure 2.3 Assessing District- and School-Wide Support for Writing 31

Figure 2.4 Survey of Preferences for Program Content 34

Figure 2.5 Survey of Preferences for Program Design and Structure 38

Figure 2.6 Staff Development Assessment Survey 40

Figure 2.7 Lenox, MA, ?ublic Schools Writing Program Guidelines, GradesOne-Six 44

Figure 2.8 Writing Skills Taught in the Summer Youth Remediation ProgramMississippi Writing/Thinking Consortium 46

Figure 2.9 Student Cumulative Folder Writing Checklist, Kershaw County, SC 48

Developing School Writing Programs , Page ii)

Figure 2.10 Guiding Assumptions and Objectives for a Fifth-Sixth Grade Writ-ing Program in All Subjects 50

Figure 2.11 Year-Long Plan for Integrating Writing Into the Primary GradesLanguage Arts Program/Lexington School District Two, WestColumbia, SC 51

Figure 2.12 Sample Lesson Plan for Lead Writing Activity Summer YouthRemediation Program, Mississippi Writing/Thinking Consor-tit:rn 53

Figure 2.13 Sample Lesson Plan for Revising acid Editing Summer YouthRemediation Program, Mississippi Writing/Thinking Consor-tium 54

Figure 2.14 Sample Lesson Plan Encompassing All Phases of the WritingProcess 55

Figure 2.15 Survey Form for Student Perception of Writing Instruction 58

Chapter 3

Evaluation Of Writing 59

Figure 3.1 Compositional Elements for Modified Holistic Scoring (Descrip-tive Writing) 61

Figure 3.2 Modified Holistic Scoring Criteria for the South Carolina BasicSkills Assessment Program 62

Figure 3.3 Writing Checklist for Analytic Scoring of Student Papers 64

Figure 3.4 Primary Trait Scoring Guide for Persuasive Letters 65

Figure 3.5 Sample Writing Prompts for Holistic Writing Assessment 67

Figure 3.6 Guide for Observing the Teaching of the Exploring and F LanningStages of the Composing Process 69

Figure 3.7 Guide for Observing the Teaching of the Revising and SharingStages of the Composing Process 70

Figure 3.8 Observation of Student Writing Processes, Grades One-Six 71

Figure 3.9 Judging the Writing Constructively: Assessing the Effectiveness ofWriting Evaluation in a School Writing Program 74

Figure 3.10 A Model for Evaluation of Writing Based on Student Ability toCommunicate a Clear Message 75

Figure 3.11 Evaluation Criteria for Levels of Writing in Grades Nine and Ten 76

Figure 1.12 Form for Recording Open-Ended Responses to Student Papers 78

Figure 3.13 Modified Holistic Scoring Criteria Used to Respond to StudentPapers (Descriptive Writing) 79

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Page ii Southeastern Educational Improvement Laboratory

Figure 3.14 Editing Checklist Form 80

Figure 3.15 Peer Response Recording Form '81

Figure 3.16 Student Self-Evaluation Form 83

Chapter 4

Writing In Content Subjects 85

Figure 4.1 How Writing Can Be Used to Learn Content and Skills in SocialStudies 87

Figure 4.2 Student Mapping of the Topic of "Radiation" as a Study Strategy 88

Figure 4.3 The Value of Learning Logs 90

Figure 4.4 Two Sample Writing Assignments in Secondary Social Studies 92

Figure 4.5 Writing Good Essay Questions: Sample Statements for FrequentlyUsed Directive Words 96

Chapter 5

Conclusion 99

Bibliography 103

"e

peveloping School Writing Programs Page iii

1: How StudentsLearn To Write

The ocean was rough as the storm quiLkly gained on the boat. The fishermen had been out for a few days;and at four o'clock in the afternoon of the final day, they were loading up to go in. Pulling in the net of yel-lowfin tuna, the tired fishermen brought m more porpoises than usual. Evhausted and overly anxious to gethome, they pulled in the net, porpoises and all. Eighteen porpoises had to pay with their lives for thefishermen's long tiring week.... Anne Scalanino, high school student (Moffett, 1987)

Anne is a fortunate young woman, able to express her beliefs with clarity and force. Across thecountry, a surge of interest in writing has produced many classrooms where writers like Anne arepracticing the craft of writing and enjoying their growth as literate communicators.

Students who graduate from school today will enter a world of writing. Computer hookups speed theexchange of messages back and forth between offices and even continents many times in a day. I seesigns of this intensified literacy in my own community as I stand in line at the local copy shop behindofficers of community organizations getting copies of official-looking messages written on theirhome computers.

We realize that many students in school today are poorly prepared for an intensely literate society.We see their inadequate written work every day, and large-scale writing assessment programs sub-stantiate what we see in our own schools. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (1986)writing proficiency tests in 1983 and 1984 showed that:

Most students were unable to write adequately except in response to the simpliest of tasks. Only

12 percent of eighth graders and 19.4 percent of the eleventh graders performed at even ade-quate levels of performance in persuasive writing tasks. Eleventh graders did better on infor-mative writing tasks: 38 percent wrote wt an adequate level.

Students of all ages had difficulty with analytic writing. Even on the easiest task, which askedstudents to "compare and contrast," only 25 percent of the eleventh graders, 18 percent of theeighth graders, and 2 percent of the fourth graders wrote adequate analyses.

Students' positive attitudes toward writing deteriorated steadily across the grades. In gradefour, 57 percent of the students reported that they like to write. This fell to 39 percent by theeleventh grade.

Developing School Writing Programs Page 1

What Research SaysTwo decades 01 intensive research in the teaching of writing have yielded a knowledge base, tentative

though some of it is, to support theories of composition instruction that are far more useful to prac-titioners than were the speculative theories of the past. Researchers set out to determine what is in,

volved in the act of writing in elementary and secondary classrooms, producing studies of planning,of writing production factors, of revision, of the effects of teacher response, and, especially, of writ-

ing apprehension and its damaging effects.

Hillocks (1987), in a major review of approximately 2,000 studies of writing instruction, found thatthe elements of effective writing instruction are quite different from what has been commonly prac-ticed in schools. Typically, writing instruction has been modeled after the editing processes of

publishing houses.

Teachers defined the task, set the due date, and evaluated and corrected the final product. In thismodel of writing instruction, teachers dominated all writing activity, with students acting as the pas-sive recipients of rules, advice, and examples of good writing.

But Hillocks found that what works well in the publishing house is not what is needed by growing

writers. This presentational mode of teaching was the least effective of several instructional models,less effective even than a process model, which emphasized students involved in writing with little or

no guidance or instruction.

The most effective mode of instruction, which Hillocks calls environmental, provided a combinationof composing experiences with high levels of student involvement and specifically planned activities

to assist students in acquiring needed knowledge about writing:

Students writing about subjects that interest them.

Involving students in problem-solving activities that provide prat...at of skills that will be used

later in writing.These structured problem-solving activities are planned to enable students to dealwith similar

problems when they are composing. They are very different from the fill-in-the-blank exercises

in most English books, which have very little relationship to the decisions that writers must

make while writing.

Building more complex sentences from simpler ones, including sentence combining.

Using scales, criteria, and specific questions that students apply to their own or others' writ-

ing.

Students regularly examine their own writing and the writing of others in the light of explicitly statedcriteria. Using the criteria systematically encourages students to internalize them and use them inwriting even when they do not have the criteria in front of them. The study of grammar (parts ofspeech and sentence structure) had little or no effect on raising the quality of student writing. Infact, taught in certain ways, grammar and mechanics instruction had a negative effect on studentwriting. Similarly, in some programs, a heavy emphasis on mechanics and usage (;,e., marking every

error) resulted in significant losses in overall quality during the period of time of the study.

This finding was so consistent across many classrooms that Hillocks issues the following warning to

educators:

School boards, administrators, and teachers who impose the systematic study of traditional school gram-

mar on their students over lengthy periods of time in the name of teaching writing do them a great disser-

vice which should not be tolerated by anyone concerned with the effective teaching of good writing. We

Page 2 Southeastern Educational Improvement Laboratory9

need to learn to leach standard usage and median:Ls after carefid task analysis and it ith minimal gram-

mar (pp. 248-249).

After several years of instructional development, teachers from all grade levels (including middleschool) at Boothbay Elementary School, Boothbay, ME, summarized what they had learned aboutenvironments for student writers in the seven principles presented in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1Principles Of Teaching And Learning

Writing From Boothbay Elementary School

1. Writers need regular chunks of time time to think, write, confer, read, change their minds, andwrite some more. Writers need time they can count on, so even when they aren't writing, they'reanticipating the time they will be. Writers need time to write well.

2. Writers need their own topics. Right from the first day of kindergarten, students should use writ-ing as a way to think about and give shape to their owe ideas and concerns.

3. Writers need response. Helpful response comes during not after the composing. It comesfrom the writer's peers and from the teacher, who consistently models the kinds of restatementsand questions that help writers reflect on the content of their writing.

4. Writers learn mechanics in context, from teachers who address errors as they occur within in-dividual pieces of writing, where these rules and forms will have meaning.

5. Children need to know adults who write. We need to write, share our writing with our students,and demonstrate what experienced writers do in the process of composing, letting our studentssee our own drafts in all their messiness and tentativeness.

6. Writers need to read. They need access to a wide-ranging variety of texts, prose and poetry, fic-

tion, and nonfiction.

7. Writing teachers need to take responsibility for their knowledge and teaching. We must seek outprofessional resources that reflect the far-reaLhing conclusions of recent research into children'swriting. And we must become writers and researchers, observing and learning from our own andour students' writing. Atwell, 1987


Current Practice in Teaching WritingBased on what we are learning about student writers. many hoots across the country have madechanges in the classroom environment for teaching writing. Rather than a new approach to teachingwriting, these changes are better LharaLterized as a shift in emphasis from a prescriptive approach toa problem-solving approach. These changes can be summarized as follows:

Emphasis on the content of written productsrather than form and mechanicsEffective writers have something to say that is of importance to them and to their intended audience.When the classroom gives too much emphasis to the skills of writing, students learn that wh..,t theyhave to say is of little importance, a lesson that is counterproductive in the workplace or highereducation. When the content of writing becomes the center of attention, students want to reach theiraudience effectively, and, through their concern fur effective communication, they learn about the or-ganization, style, and mechanics of writing as meaningful tools of effective writers.

Emphasis on varied writing tasksIn recognition of the many different kinds of writing tasks in school and in real life, writing curriculanow provide for inclusion of a wide variety of writing assignments, formal and informal, long andshort, for many different purposes and audiences. Letters, research papers, journal entries,editorials, lab reports, short stories, personal narratives, memos, lyric poetry, and critical analysiseach requires its own appropriate form and style, which in turn require a unique set of studentresponses. Over time, students build a repertoire of language alternatives and an understanding ofhow to make appropriate decisions for the task at hand.

Emphasis on forms of writing thatmirror real-world writingIn recent years, the English curriculum has undergone a movement away from an almost exclusiveemphasis on narrowly defined academic writing to writing that works in the real world. The criticalessay, the research paper, the five-paragraph theme, and the sonnet no longer rule the curriculum.The thesis statement, for example, now shares a place with "leads" that do more than establish thethesis or main idea. Students are encouraged to write leads in the fashion of newspaper andmagazine writers, leads that establish a bond with the audience, leads that entertain, and leads thatcommunicate the personal involvement of the author. College curricula are undergoing a similarbroadening of the limits of academic writing, joining with public schools to provide a better prepara-tion for both continued academic work and occupational writing tasks.

Emphasis on teaching the processes of writingIn order to write well, students need to !Lam more than what the final form old composition should

b They need to know how to get from their initial half-formed thoughts to a clear, well-organized,e..iective, and correct written

product. Just as cooks need more than a picture .ind recipe for a loaf of bread and basketball playersneed more than a videotape of a game, the writer needs to know the processes of planning, drafting,revising, and editing that create an effective composition. And especially, like the basketball player,the writer needs frequent practice in school with supportive assistance in order to achieve usable

mastery of these processes.

Page 4 Southeastern Educational Improvement Laboratory

Emphasis on teaching form and mechanicsin the context of students' writingRecognizing the complexity and %ariability of writing tasks. teachers plan for n rublem-solving ac-tivities that will assist students in solving the many problems content selection. organization, wordLhoice, style, spelling that they will face on their own as independent writers. Rather than present-ing rules for written products. teachers present problems to be solved, helping students to find solu-tions that are appropriate for different writing tasks.

Emphasis on audience feedbackWe talk because. someone listens. We try to improve our communication because we want to interestor convince someone else who hears us. If a teacher continues to talk to her students even thoughthey have left for lunch, everyone would conclude that something was seriously wrong with her men-tal condition. No one in his/her right mind would keep talking to an empty room. But isn't that whatwe have been asking student writers to do, day after day and year after year? Too often, we have ex-

pected them to write for no real purpose and no real audience, and, even more, we have expectedthem w work hard to improve their writing for no purpose and no real audience.

Now, in classrooms all over the country, students are sharing their writing in informal circles, fillingbulletin boacjs and hallways with their writing, and binding their corrected work into 000ks. Oneelementary school has a special collection of -rare books," which children check out with eager inter-est. Classes make collections of informational brochures to share with each other, each child con-tributing his or her expertise, from making peanut butter cookies to bass fishing. Older studentswrite supplementary science texts for younger students, and classes in New York City exchange theirlife stories on-line with peers in South Carolina.

Only a small part of the audience fur writing should be in the form of contests or competitive publi-cation. An writers need audience response, not just the best writers, and beginning writers need here-and-now audiences that can give them feedback useful for continued growth. The response of anaudience is the powerful stimulant that keeps the writer working, but it is also a powerful correctivewhen the message is not clear or convincing.

Emphasis on teachers in a coaching roteTraditionally, teachers were most aLtne at the beginning and the end of the writing process. Nowteachers play a very active rule during writing itself, encouraging, supporting, and clarifying as

Donald Graves (1983) has said, helping writers -leapfrog over problems."

Coaching writing is not easy, as teachers who are experimenting with this new role have found out. Itis hard to manage well the scarce time mailable for writing. Yet teachers have found ways to managethis new role effectively and are excited about the results in student writing and in the changed class-room atmosphere. One high school teacher reported, " Now I'm with them instead of against them."

A characteristic of a good coach is being a careful observer of the players. and writing teachers arelearning to "learn from their students, gradually coming to understand their preferred approachesto planning and drafting, their trouble spots, and their areas of expertise to share with others.Naturally, a large student load mitigates sensitive understanding of student writers, a problem thatadministrators will need to help teachers solve.

Emphasis on the classroom as a community of writersWhen everybody in a classroom is practicing the craft of writing, writers can find many sources of en-couragement and assistance. The positive energy of the collaborative group pulls along the reluctant


and the fearful writer. Peer assistance is efficient: students do not have to wait for the teacher forhelp.

Even more importantly, students bruin to view themsekts 4, people who are capable of solving writ-ing problems. Especially among low-achieving students, this change in attitude can result indramatic leaps in writing-ability. When teachers juin the class community as writers, sharing theirplans, problems, and texts, they become more empathetic supporters of student writers and have theopportunity to model many important processes of writing.

Emphasis on integratingreading/literature and writing programs'Writing deserves separate attention as an important mod,. of communication. Yet, it is inevitablethat once the writing program is well established, committed writing teachers will want closer tieswith other parts of the English/'language arts curriculum. Once teachers feel comfortable teachingwriting, they will be ready to begin to create stronger connections between their reading and writingprograms. Such connections are efficient, eliminating duplication of objectives. They also help stu-dents to apply what they have learned about writing to their reading; for example, applying insightsabout organizing their essays to comprehending informational reading material. Reading material,after all, is writing. And writing is reading for the audience that receives it.

Writers primarily learn about writing from what they read. For better or worse, the reading materialthat students are exposed to at home and at school plays a strong role in shaping their concepts ofwhat is expected of them in writing. This influence is so strong that even two different basal readingprograms with different levels of language complexity can influence students to write with simplelevels of complexity, despite the students' potential ability as writers. In recent years, publishers haveresponded to this research by providing better and more varied models of writing in basal readingtexts.

Schools must build their own richly varied reading programs, exposing students from the earliestyears to the very best imaginative and informational literature. Without such a language base, eventhe most talented writing teachers will have little success in developing excellent writers.

Emphasis on writing to learn in all subjectsWriting is a valuable tool for thinking. Although students may sit passively during a lecture, whenthey put their own ideas on paper, the writing makes them active learners. Students who put theirown summaries and analyses into written form remember more and integrate new material with pre-vious learning. Journal entries about reactions to new concepts give teachers invaluable insight intothe status of each student relative to the topic of the class. Each discipline has its own particular pat-tern of thinking and inquiry. Teachers have found many ways to use writing to assist learning in

mathematics problem-solving, in biological observations, and in artistic envisioning.

Emphasis on providing specific feedback to writers rather than gradingwritten productsA grade gives students little information. It is not surprising that writers do not find grades a veryuseful tool for their learning. Although students may initially demand grades on their papers, theysoon learn to value different kinds of feedback, from checklists of revising and editing criteria to con-ference discussions and audience comments. Teachers can thus be relieved of the burden of makingoverall evaluations of each paper and can concentrate on selected elements of writing that studentsare ready to learn.


Writing ProcessesThe task of transforming inner thoughts into appropriate written messages takes the writer throughseveral phases of mental activity. These phases have been given various labels. but there is generalagreement on an initial planning phase, a drafting phase, a phase of looking back at what was writ-ten, and a phase of final correction for a public audience. Donald Murray (1981) describes thesephases in Figure 1.2

Observational studies of writers show that writers usually do net proceed through these phases in aliuear fashion, one step at a time from beginning to end. Even when drafting, writers make sma'a cor-rections in spelling and word choice, and a draft may be interrupted by major reshaping of the topic.Writers are constantly shuttling back and forth among the phases of writing as problems and oppor-tunities present themselves ' 1, 1987; Calkins, 1986).

Additionally, each student approaches these processes in an individual manner. ()ix student prefersto linger over the prewriting phase, making lists and charts, then swiftly drafts a text. In the next seat,another student begins to draft almost immediately, stopping frequently for extensive crossing outand adding on. Writers also react differently to various tasks. Some of them will enjoy poetry, start-ing to write with ease, but others will find this task difficult and need more time. A writing programshould provide time for composing with built-in flexibility in processes and time schedules.

Developing writers benefit from the opportunity to concentrate on each one of these phases at atime. For example, students can shape and clarify topics better if they do not have to concentrate onthe final form of the composition at the same time. Similarly, drafting goes more smoothly if ques-tions about correctness of punctuation and spelling can be delayed until after the thoughts have beenformulated.

The complexity of the writing task places a severe burden of problem solving on student writers.There is so much to remember, some of it only recently learned and difficult to retrieve even underthe most supportive circumstances. If writers have to solve too many problems all at once, it seemsthat they respond by simplifying the task in other words, creating simplified texts with easily con-structed sentences and easily spelled words. Not willing to risk mistakes, they make little progress in

improving their writing.

It is important to retn,.-nber that there is no one best way to implement the phases of the writingprocess in the classroom. Sometimes the writing task will extend over several days or weeks. Whenmiddle-school students are writing research reports, the prewriting stage will be lengthy, as studentscollect and organize their information, trying to separate out important focusing ideas from suppor-tive details. Similarly, a fourth grade class will need several weeks to write books for kindergartenchildren, surveying picture hooks for appropriate language and special design, developing topics andinformation, revising and editing carefully, and finally binding the books with decorative covers.

If students know a lot about their subject, all phases may be abbreviated. When they write in theirjournals, for example, prewriting occurs in brief snatches of time, out of school, when journals are

passed out, and in the few seconds while the pencil is poised over the paper.

1 he circumstances of the school, such as schedules, faculty assignments, program goals, and teacherexpertise, will also influence how the processes of writing are taught and scheduled into the schoolday. Whatever the approach, sustained time for composing on a frequent, regular basis must beprovided.

Glatthorn (1981) presents a comparison of important differences identified in several reliable

studies of skilled and unskilled writers (Figure 1.3). It is interesting that characteristics of unskilledwriters, such as minimal revision, are also characteristics that have been observed in classrooms

Developing School Writing Programs I Page 7

where students are overloaded with too many demands at one time. In such cases. changes in theclassroom environment for writing may encourage the "unskilled" writers to take more risks andbegin to act like skilled writers who are constantly adding to their competence.

5


Figure 1.2The Writing Process as Described by Donald Murray

The process through which the writer passes to produce an effective piece of writing will vary withthe writer and the writing task, but this is the process through which most v, titers find it necessary topass most of the time.

Prewriting

1. Collect Writers know el fective writing requires an abundant inventory of specific, accurate infor-mation. The information is collected through reading, interviewing, observing, remembering.

2. Connect Meaning begins to be discovered as pieces of information connect and evolve into pat-terns of potential meaning. The writer plays with the relationships between pieces of informationto discover as many patterns of meaning as possible.

3. Rehearse In the mind and on paper, the writer follows language toward meaning. The writer willrehearse titles, leads, partial drafts, sections of a potential piece of writing to discover the voiceand the form, which lead to meaning and which communicate that meaning.

Writing

4. DraftThe writer completes a discovery draft, usually written as fast as possible, often withoutnotes, to find out what the writer knows and does not know, what works and does not work. Thewriter is particularly interested in what works because most effective writing is built from extend-ing and reinforcing the positive elements in a piece of writing.

Rewriting

5. Develop The writer explores the subject by developing each point through definition, descrip-tion and, especially, documentationwhich shows as well as tells the writer, and then the reader,what the piece of writing means. The writer usually has to add information to understand thepotential meaning of the drafts and often has to reconstruct them.

6. ClarifyThe writer anticipates and answers all the reader's questions. At this stage, the writercuts everything that is unnecessary and often adds those spontaneous touches we call style. Theyproduce the illusion of easy writing that means easy reading.

7. Edit The writer goes over the piece line by line, often reading aloud, to make sure that eachword, each mark of punctuation, each space between words contributes to the effectiveness of thepiece of writing. The writer uses the most simple words appropriate to the meaning, writesprimarily with verbs and nouns, respects the subject-verb-object sentence, builds paragraphs thatcarry a full load of meaning to the reader, and continues to use specific, accurate information asthe raw material of vigorous, affective writing. The writer avoids any break with the customs ofspelling and language that do not clarify meaning.


Student Reflection On Their Writing ProcessesStudents an report their writing practices and their feelings about themselves as writers through un-finished sentences either in written form or as an interview, such as those presented in Figure 1.4.This survey can be completed with all ages of writers. Another approach to understanding students'concepts about writing is given in Figure 1.5 and used in upper elementary grades twice a year to en-courage students to be self-aware and to monitor their growth as writers.


Figure 1.3

The Composing Processes or Unskilled and SkilledWriters

Unskilled WritersStage

Exploring Do not consider exploring impor-tant or useful

Spend little time exploring

Planning Typically make no plans before theywrite

Prefer not to outline; make outlinesafter piece is drafted

Develop limited plans as they write

Drafting Write in a way that imitates speech

Revising

Revising

Write without concern for reader

Are preoccupied with technicalmatters of spelling and punctuationDo not pause very muchDo not rescan or reflect

Focus on topic alone, not the wholerhetorical problem

Either revise very little or only atthe surface and word levels

See revision mainly as "error hunt-ing"

Stop revising when they feel theyhave not violated any rules

Spend so much lime and energy onchanging spelling and punctuationduring drafting stage that they losesight of larger problems

Often see revising as "making aneat copy in ink" copy in ink"

Skilles13.Y.thas

Consider exploring activities use-ful and helpful

Spend more time consideringand contemplating

Accompany their planning withnote-taking, sketching, diagram-ming

Write in a way that is less likespeech

Show more sensitivity to reader

Spend more time in drafting

Frequently stop to rescan,reread, reflect

Respond to all aspects of rhetori-cal problem audience, medium,voice, etc.

Either revise very little or reviseextensively at sentence andparagraph level

Are more concerned with con-tent and reader appeal

Do not become unduly con-cerned with matters of form

See revising as recursive and on-going


1 3

Figure 1.4Oral or Written Interview With Open-Ended Sentences

1. When my instructor tells us that we are authors, I....

2. Whenever I'm told that I have a writing assignment to do, 1....

3. When famous authors write, they....

4. A person I know personally who writes well isWhat makes this person a good writer is....

5. I do my best writing when....

6. The reason(s) that I've never written much....

7. What scares me about the whole idea of writine....

8. The hardest thing(s) about writing....

9. Writing would be a lot easier if....

10. I'd feel a lot better about writing....

11. If I could ask another writer about learning to write well, I would ask....

12.1f I thought that I could write well, I....

Thanks to Jean Anne Clyde, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.

3 3


Figure 1.5Questions for Student Writers

Student's Name Date

1. Do vou know how to write?(It-No, go to 2b)

2a. How did you learn to write?

(If answer is Yes, go to 2a)

2b. How do people learn to write?

3. Why do people write?

4. What do you think a good writer needs to do in order to write well?

5. How does a reader decide which pieces of writing or storks are the good ones?

6. In general, how do you feel about what you write?

7. Do you like to read?

Thanks to Dayne Shealey, Wood Elementary School, West Columbia, SC (adapted from Atwell,1987).

Developing School Writing Programs2 0

Page 13

Publishing Student WritingA key element perhaps dig key element in implementing -a successful writing program is publish-ing student writing. Publishing does not always mean printing student writing in a formal book orsending a carefully chosen piece to a national magazine. Perhaps it would be better to think ofstudents' sharing their writing with a variety of real audiences.

Sharing can take place between one student and a peer sitting together in a corner of the room. Shar-ing can be students' reading their work in a circle of their classmates. The important criteria forclassroom publishingor sharing are, first, that students receive positive responses and, second,that all students in the class have the opportunity to publish.

Donald Graves (1980) points out the importance of publishing as he answers the question, "Whypublish?" His answers, slightly paraphrased and condensed, are as follows:

1. "Why publish?" is closely connected with "Why write?" Writing is a public act, meant to be sharedwith many audiences. If no one cares what the children have to say, if no one reads what theywrite, why should they try to write effectively? Publishing is perhaps the single most importantingredient of a good writing program. A published work is the hardcover record of past accom-plishments that gives children confidence to continue writing.

2. Publishing contributes strongly to a writer's development. When children first write, they have no pastor future. As they build a series of published works, they have a sense of development, change,and even individual voice (my usual style).

3. Publishing also contributes to a set:se of audience. A young writer finds, for example, that otherchildren put their names on the checkout card in her book and make comments about the con-tents.

4. Publishing helps at home. The book is tangible evidence that the child is progressing.

5. When children publish, teachers can work with more of their skills. Spelling, punctuation, grammar,and handwriting receive high attention when written pieces go to final draft. They receive evengreater attention when writing goes to broader audiences through publishing.

Stephen Judy, in the very useful English Teacher's Handbook, lists a number of publishing oppor-tunities within the school for student writers (Figure 1.6). Many educational magazines solicit stu-dent writing at different grade levels. In Figure 1.7 is a sample of magazine publishing sources.

.Page 14 Southeastern Educational Improvement Laboratory

Figure 1.6Audiences for Student Writing

Publications

Mimer,graph books for special sAxasions. Thanksgis inn, end-of-the-term, winter, Valentines Day.

Concept books: colors, emotions, seaside animals, simple machines.

Prebound blank books or photo albums. Spend the term filling them with selected writing.

Class magazine or newspaper: Study magazines and newspapers. Decide what section the classwould like to include, and assign responsibility for Pleb to small groups. Include art work.

Individual books: Bind the books, and share them at a book fair or place in the library. Students canwrite prefaces and bibliographic information about the author for each other. Books can be reviewedorally and in the class magazine.

Class books: Bind books created by the class as a whole. Make joke books, riddle books, cookbooks,or reference books.

Class re,..ding assignment: Each student responds zo a classmate's paper with a collage, free writing,poem, or drawing.

Bulletin boards: Share first drafts on a classroom bulletin board with the title. "Work in Progress."Share edited final drafts on hallway bulletin boards or in the school office. Make the most of interest-ing graphics to show off the writing.

Use already existing publications in the school and community.

Create new publications. Develop your own magazines, newspapers, or writing contests, being care-ful not to single out only a few best writers.

Swap writing between classrooms: Exchange ..1dSb magazines, stories, and directionsharing papers(how to tie a shoe or make peanut butter sandwiches) with other classes. Sponsor a "Penny a Poem"fair, and invite other classes to buy poetry. Write stories for younger children.

Write supplementary texts: Provide writers with teachers' ubjeLti%es and with the purchased tens.Have them write more detailed and more interesting booklets for a particular audience. Use thelibrary and their own experience for background information.


Figure 1.7Publishing Sources for Student Writing, Grades One-Twelve

MagazineAmerican Girl830 Third Avenue New York,NY 10022Boy's Life1325 Walnut Hill LaneIrving, TX 75062Children's DigestP.O. Box 567Indianapolis, IN 46206The Children's AlbumP.O. Box 262Manchester, CA 95459Child LifeP.O. Box 567Indianapolis, IN 46206

Cricket1058 8th StreetLaSalle, IL 61301

Ebony Jr:820 S. Michigan Ave.Chicago, IL 60605Highlights for ChildrenChurch StreetHonesdale, PA 18431Jack and JillP. 0. Box 567Indianapolis, IN 46026

Kids MagazineP.O. Box 3041Grand Central StationNew York, NY 10017

The McGuffey Writer400A McGuffey HallMiami University Oxford, OH45056

Merlyn's PenP.O. Box 716 East Greenwich,RI 02818Scholastic Voice50 West 44th StreetNew York, NY 10036

Stone SoupP.O. Box 83Santa Cruz, CA 95063Wombat365 Ashton DriveAthens, GA 30606Young WorldP.O. Box 567Indianapolis, IN 46206

Types or Writinacc:tlited12-14 Short stories. poems. and letters to the editor.

all

8-10

all

7-9

6-12

all

5-10

5-10

all

Real-life stories.

Poetry, short stories. riddles, and jokes.

Short stories, poems. and nonfiction.

Short stories, poetry, riddles, jokes, and letters tothe editor.

Letters and Cricket League monthly; short storyand poetry contests.

Essays, short stories, poems, jokes, riddles, andcartoons.

Poetry, short stories, jokes, riddles, and letters tothe editor.

Short stories, poems, riddles, and letters to theeditor.

Short stories, reports, poems, cartoons, puzzles,and most other forms of writing.

all Poetry, short stories, essays, and cartoons.

12-14

13-14

all

all

10-14

Essays, poems, and short stories.

Short stories and poems; also writing contests.

Poetry, short stories, and book, reports (books toChildren's Art Foundation be reviewed areprovided by the magazine).Short stories, poems, essays, puzzles, cartoons,and book reports.

Poetry, short stories, jokes, and letters to theeditor.

4J


Special Considerations: Young Elementary StudentsWe now know that young students can write from the very first day that they enter school. They willuse their current level of knowledge about written languageall that they have learned from watch-ing their parents and other more mature writers, all that they have learned from looking at booksand being read to, all they have learned from their community and their early school experiences.Their writing will show the surprising extent of their knowledge of the cultural conventions of writ-ing and also their delightful self-created symbols where they do not yet know adult written conven-tions. Each child's writing will be different, reflecting differing life experiences to date. These dif-ferences in demonstrated ability may at first be disconcerting to teachers who are used to attainingrather uniform levels of learning in response to their lessons. Actually, these variations are a naturalpart of early language development and are valuable as a source of learning for other students. Thesamples of five-year-old writing in Figure L8 indicate the inventiveness of beginning writers as theycommunicate their messages.

Figure 1.8Two Samples of Five-Year-Old Writing

In response to a teacher question,"If you could go anywhere, wherewould you go?" Robert wrote:

I would go to a wadden. I want to see somebodyget Mary D.

(I would go to a wedding. I wantto see somebody get married.)

MD d ) eh 1[3 fW 0 (V\

CA) \) b u 5 +. `y.' (

ROON\

(No Dads and Moms in Dusty's room)

Thanks to teachers Terry Crawford and Martha Wall for sharing these samples of student writing.

Dusty and Robert's teachers observe and value their extensive five-year-old knowledge of written lan-guage. There is no need to correct "errors." Just as childish lisps are gradually replaced by maturepronunciation, so will immature writing gradually take on the spelling and structure of mature writ-ingif students have daily experience sending and receiving written communications.

Figures 1.9, ant* 1.12 are writing samples of students in successful writing programs in first-and-second grade. Their differences in language skill and purpose for writing enriched the language in-


struction in their classes. They wrote and learned side by side with other students. cm...imaged tomove forward in their learning by teachers who tinselled their work carefully and taught new skillswhen they were ready for them, not damaging their development by over-emphasis on errors.

How can administrators assist the development of successful writing programs for young children?First, teachers who have taught writing through artificial sequences of workbook lessons will need tounderstand the "wholeness" of young children's learning and the power of real communication ac-tivities as a medium for language growth. They will need to see for themselves convincing demonstra-tions of the effectiveness of a whole-language approach and be willing to consider the possibility ofputting away their workbooks and filling the day with real communication activities. Once they areinterested in new approaches, teachers will need assistance in acquiring new teaching strategies andcontinuing support as they solve problems of scheduling, organization, materials, and evaluation.

A "whole-language" approach involves young students in using language functionally and purpose-fully to meet their own needs. Although at first it may seem to teachers that a clearly planned lessonthat focuses on one small skill is more effective, observation of young children in classrooms shows

just the very opposite. When primary-grade students are encouraged to talk about things they wantto know and write about what is happening to them, they will rapidly acquire the skills of punctua-tion, capitalization, spelling, and sentence structure. Teachers also surround the students with writ-ten language of all kindsstudents' writing ready to be read by others, storybooks, informationalbooks, poetry, newspapers, children's magazines, teachers' memos and notes, posters, and signs. Justas in classrooms at all grade levels, young students need to write frequently in school, write for realpurposes/audiences, receive feedback, and discuss how other writers use words effectively. Wholelanguage classrooms have mailboxes, writing centers complete with a wide range of paper and imple-ments, library corners, newsstands, "office" tole-playing centers, and appropriate labels for every-

thing.

The changes in the rule of the teacher are refreshing for teachers, once they are comfortable withthem. Gone are the long tedious hours of correcting stacks of dittos, the making of dittos to reteachdifficult isolated skills, the correcting of errors in tedious "child writing" created "for the teacher."Gone is the strain of keeping a restless group of young students focused on a task that is boring for

some and incomprehensible to others.

Instead, teachers choose library books, (seat: inviting centers, respond as a real audience to manyvaried communications from students, and write personal notes in journals. Record keeping is stillimportant but emphasizes descriptive entries in a log. "Jason learned about quotation marks fromLindsay but is still confused about the comma placement."


Figure 1.9Samples Of First-Grade Writing In September and October

In September, Joseph', writing was brief, with close attention to correct spelling and careful hand-writing us, in this sample:

I went to the gainepa:k.

Joseph's teacher asked questions such as ''What did you see there?" to help him understand how toexpand his messages. Below is a sample that was characteristic of his more imaginative writing onemonth later, revised by Joseph to add a few missing words. Note his growing knowledge of spelling,capitalization, and punctuation:

Oncl upon a time there was a Brontousaurus and a StegosaurusThe Brontousaurus said let's buy a very big tree. But I cantreach it said the Stagosaurus. B.: I could cook it said theBrontousaurus Okay, said the Stegousaurus Yes we will have a planteater's party said the Brontosaurus So, they had one the next

day.

Developing School Writing Programs Page 19r, -1,f_ 0

Figure 1.10First-Grade Informational Writing in Book Format

a. Prewriting: Plans for futurebooks

c. Page one

27

b. Title Page

d. Page two


Figure 1.11First-Grade Personal Narrative Writing in Book Format Typed by

Child on Computer

(Title) THINGS OBOUT MY NABERS

(p.1) HELLO MY NAM IS TOM KLEIN

(p.2) IT IS VEREE FUN AT MY HOUSE

(p.3) MY NABERSE ARE FUN TO PLAE WITH WIN WEE PLAE SOCER IT IS VAEREEFUN TO PLAE SOCER WE OLWASE PLAE SOCER

(p.4) THIS WEEK MY DAD WINT FISHING WITH MY GRAND DAD THAE COT SIX FISHMY DAD TUCK THIM HOME WEE ATE THE FISH

(p.5) THERE ARE MOR FISH THEN WEE THOT THAER WUD BEE

Thanks to teachers Mary Mcllwain, Mark Chevalier, Renee Falconer, and Cathy Biget.


Figure 1.12Second-Grade Personal Narrative Writing With Revisions After

Conference About the Content

27 Sep. 1984 Mr. Biget is swinging Me!

Between the tents and fire Mr. Biget is holding my foot andmy hand. He is swinging me round and round. Both of us are

getting dizzy. It is like I am flying. It goes so fast it washard to see. I had a feeling that 1 never felt before./ am going

higher and higher. It is very fun. Faster and higher until hestops. Tallat Treto, ESL Student

(Italicized sentences were added later after students had asked the author questions in a conference.)

25.


Special Considerations: Minority Dialect SpeakersThroughout our history, new citizens have come to the United States from countries all around theworld. We are proud of their contributions as individuals and as bearers of diverse cultural heritageto our country's development. But teaching English to the children of a diverse population is some-times difficult, especially when many citizens newcomers and old residents i.re poor and are notstrong readers and writers. !solation from the mainstreamwhether it be in the southern ruralcountryside, the western city ghetto, or the pockets of minority poverty scattered everywhere acrossthe country creates differences in pronunciation, syntax, and word usage that we call nonstandarddialect. Students with a few dialect features here and there pose no special classroom problems, butstudents who come to school speaking very strong nonstandard dialects with many divergent featuresraise troublesome questions about English/language arts instruction.

When students write, many of the nonstandard language elements learned in local oral communica-tion show up in their writing. These nonstandard elements are often distressing to teachers whospeak and write standard English, and teachers may, as a result, discourage students from writing,unwittingly isolating these students from the very language practice they need because of an assump-tion that the students are not capable or -ready." Teachers need to understand the nature of dialectvariation and its relationship to learning standard written English in order to give students en-couragement and writing instruction appropriate to their needs.

Students with diverse language backgrounds, like all students, are more likely to learn to write well ifthey are familiar with, and engage in, the writing processes described in Chapter 1. They may,however, need additional help with unfamiliar vocabulary, certain sentence structures and wordusages, and certain forms and styles of writing. Especially as students move beyond basic writing intowriting assignments that are more academically demanding, additional time may be needed for themto become familiar with the characteristics of these forms of writing. Extended time at the prewrit-ing stage is particularly important (California State Department of Education, 1983). Studentsshould be given opportunities to try out orally both the form and content of what they wish to say, toask questions, to examine examples of others' v,riting, and to discuss freely alternatives for their com-positions.

Some generalizations about the relationship of nonstandard speech to writing instruction derivedfrom research are:

1. Speakers of nonstandard dialects do usually understand standard English. Through their com-munication with standard English speakers and through watching TV, most students have at-tained a standard -receptive" language ability, even though they retain the habit of speakingthe community dialect that seems most comfortable for them.

2. Learning different varieties of English is a natural language function, accomplished even by pre-school-age children as they learn" appropriate talk for babies, friends, parents, and communityadults. Most minority dialect speakers naturally vary their use of dialect according to its ap-propriateness in various situations. Students can learn standard English as a second dialectwithout having to eliminate their original dialect, which is useful in community situations.

3. Students do not need toand should not wait until they can speak standard English to begin toread. To delay needed reading instruction because of nonstandard speech is to deny a student ac-cess to appropriate instruction, and, especially if a capable minority child is thus negativelylabeled, the delay can unnecessarily initiate a long downward spiral of school failure. Dialect-re-lated miscues in the early grades such as, "They went home to they house," do not interfere withcomprehension. Nor does difficulty with selected phonic relationships associated with oraldialect indicate generalized reading weakness. Students who are not exposed to varied reading


material in their homes are especially in of school exposure to interesting, high-quality read-

ing material.

4. Learning to write standard English is even easier than learning to speak it if the student is ex-posed on a daily basis to books, newspapers. letters, posters, and other appropriate writing. Tolearn to speak standard English, the student must break long-standing habits that have been rein-forced in many social interactions. But writing is more or less a "clean slate."without many pre-vious habits to unlearn. After all, we all speak differently than we write, don't we?

5. Most students who speak nonstandard English are from family situations characterized byeconomic hardship, and many are further isolated from the mainstream by minority status or arural location. This isolation creates a problem that is even more troublesome than speechcharacteristics; it creates habitual styles of interaction that are very different from those usuallyfound in middle-class schools. Classrooms that provide real communication activities, periods ofindependent work, and leeway for divergent work styles can create conditions for success forthese "at risk" youngsters while they learn to adjust to the expectations of the mainstream culture.

Schools with minority, rural, and low-economic populations will need to provide teachers with ap-propriate background understanding of the diverse linguistic and interactive styles they encounter in

the classroom. Ways to make connections with local community leaders may be needed. Apprecia-tion for the strengths and talents of low-achieving students should be fostered. New programs for "atrisk" students have achieved some successes; putting teachers and administrators in touch with a net-work of other professionals with similar concerns will provide a basis for solving classroom problems

not addressed in published literature.


2: Development ofWriting Programs

Writing surprises me,sometimes disappoints mebut often clarifies what I'm thinking and it's as if I'm tracing over my thoughtsthat are already laid out ahead of my pen, Lke spreading a secret solution on invisible inkthis messageappearsthat "aha" moment....Writing is so powerful that once you know what it does for you you will not let go.

Audre Allison, high school teacher

At lunch she showed us videotapes of kias writing. I remember munching on an apple, and my words

were "lust amazing!" Her kids looked 4ike niy kidsYet they could write I could hardly believe itwhat she and Sondra had been saying dui make sense, did apply to my kids "By golly, I've got to give my

kids this chance."Reba Pekala, First Grade Teacher

All over the country, teachers are sharing stories of how they made far-reaching changes in their in-struction. These changes generally occur over a period of years and through fits and starts, ratherthan according to a rationally planzu,d schedule. Nancie Atwell (1987) reports her discomfort as shelistened to teachers at conferences rt,porting successes with student writers that she had not beenable to accomplish. She listened and thought, but she made no changes in her classroom at that time.

Then Nancie went to the Bread Loat School of English Program in Writing. There, Dixie Goswamiencouraged her to reflect on her own writing as a source of answers for her classroom. "All that sum-mer I wrote, looked at how I wrote, .cv;.d thought about what my discoveries meant for my kids aswriters. It was a summer of contradic ions," she remembers (p. 9). When school started up again,Nancie made some minor changes in i er program, giving kids more options but retaining the sameassignments that she had worked out s,) carefully in the previous years.

"I rationalized hard that winter, Nancie remembers. thought that what I needed were even morecreative, more open topics. I m.:eded thrilling prewriting activities. I needed better students...whocame to me better prepared. I needed bi.tter colleagues" (p.11). Like many teachers who take aninstructional course and then reture .dore to the classroom, she sensed a vision of something betterbut was still unable to effect significant cainges in her teaching of writing.

At this point, the teachers in her school dtzided to join together in collaborative inquiry about theirteachingto raise questions about their in,truction and together seek answers to these questions.No outside person told them the questions they should ask or pressured them to accept an uncom-fortable schedule, format, or writing curriculum. Perhaps the support of this collegial interactionand the continued stimulation from invited c.msultants finally unlocked NanLie's defenses against

change. Suddenly, one day she was ready to start.

Together Nancie and her students created a "r.:ading-and-writing- workshop" approach. They foundout many things mainly that all of these students (not just the six "excellent" students) could growinto competent writers when the students were ,riven shared responsibility for their learning. Nancieand the other teachers at Boothbay continued ter research their developing classrooms, discovering

many common elements across all of their individual programs, which they now share with otherteachers (summarized in Figure 1.1, Chapter 1).

What can we learn from the experience of the teachers at Boothbay? Certainly, it reminds us thatchange is hard, and teachers need support and leeway for moving ahead at their own pace. Another


lesson is the centrality of teaLhers in leading Lhange. As Visiting consultants. teachers from otherschools had the stamp 01 authentiLity in their ack ice. As a collaborative group of peers, the teachersat Boothbay were in charge of their Ow n learning, creating an energy for change that went far beyondwhat could have been asked of them.

Educational change is dilfiLult to aLcomplish. as anyone who has been involved in major schoolchange efforts can attest. To those of us who were caught up in the heady days 01 innovation in the'70s, it was a sobering experience to watch those innovations melt away in the hOs. Today's plannerscan take advantage of what has been learned from several decades of research on educationalchange. Two key elements stand out: a planned, comprehensive approach to school improvementthat extends over time and the centrality of teachers as both planners and executors of change.

Although common elements of su ;cessful writing improvement projects can be identified, it is alsotrue that projects differ widely according to differences in local context. Goals, priorities, duration,and content of projects differ from district to district. The impetus for change may arise from facultyconcerns or from external pressures, such as state evaluation systems and directives. In some cases,both curriculum and instructional development are envisioned, while in other Lases only adjustmentsin curricuium are needed to keep up with instructional development that has already taken place.Far-reaching changes may he contemplated, such as those experienced by Nancie Atwell and her col-leagues described at the beginning of this chapter, or only the refinement of an already establishedprogram.

The following section describes steps creating a collaborative approach to program development.Program planners can use documents and procedures that have been useful in other settings, such asthose provided in this and the following chapters, but they must develop mechanisms for the creationof a program tailored to local circumstances in order to meet the needs of their particular schools.

33,


Elements Of Writing Program DevelopmentThe model of development presented here involves a carefully planned sales of experiences that ex-tends over time. perhaps two years o, more. As CM isioned. both administrators and teachers willwork together, with teacher concerns and practices at the center of the change process. Clarificationof the various roles of district and school personnel is important to the successful functioning of theprogram.

In-service activities provide for the necessary theoretical base and the acquisition of needed instruc-tional skills to implement change. Flexibility is built into the process for teacherswho differ widelyin their concerns and levels of expertise to partake in the program at a pace and in roles that arecomfortable for them. It is assumed that program development will eventually be school-wide, but itis possible for initial steps to be made by the teachers who are mist open to change.

The elements described here are not intended as separate activities. Nor is there a necessary order,although building commitment and voluntary experimentation of new instructional strategiesprovide a foundation for more systematic, school-wide development. Like writing itself, the elementsare recursive and overlapping, taking place concurrently and cycling back on each other as another

layer of change takes place.

Successful instructional development will include teachers as fully-functioning partners in changefrom the very beginning stages, involving them in defining the problems to be solved, as well as in theselection of potential curricula and instructional programs. Time is needed for extended processesof reflection, analysis, and synthesis of formal and practical knowledge to convert general under-standings into new schedules, instructional strategies, and organizational patterns in an actual

functioning school.

Implementing d successful writing program is a process, not an event (Capper and Bagenstos, 1987),leading to the type of program described in Figure 2.1.

Haugen, Kean, and Mohan (1981) suggest that a comparison of two opposing approaches to teachingwriting such as that shown in Figure 2.2 can serve as a useful guide for self-observation and discus-sion as teachers articulate changes in their current program. It may also provide a basis for assessing-where we are now" during long -term change projects. These and other teacher- response forms canbe used at a faculty meeting, with all teachers filling them out and discussing their responses, or in-

dividually, by all teachers or by English teachers only.

ra4


Figure 2.1Summary of the Elements of Writing Program Development

An excellent school writing program should include:

Teachers who write themselves and who have investigated how to teach writing.

Writing of whole pieces of discourse, rather than exercises in grammar books.

Much writing in all subject areas.

Emphasis on successive drafts of writing, with evaluation delayed until the final draft.

Teaching (not just requiring) the revision small-group process.

Allowing students to write for a variety of audiences and purposes.

Keeping individual student writing folders in the classroom so that students and teachers can

measure progress over time and learn from previous papers.

Teaching mechanical and grammatical skills using the students' own writing.

Much reading and discussing of a wide %ariety of literature in all genres and subjects.

Publishing and/or displaying student-written work in the school.

Allowing students many opportunities to findlchoose their own topics for writing.

Fitting the school: district method of evaluating writing growth to the method of teaching writ-

ing (using holistic scoring for a writing-based program, etc.).

Emphasizing content skills (logic, coherence, specificity, organization) before mechanical sur-

face-level skills (punctuation and spelling).

instilling in all students a belief that they can write and have something to write about.

Supporting teachers' attendance at in-scr% iee workshops and conferences that focus on im-

proving the teaching of writing.

From Robert N. Fortenberry and Sandra Price Burkett, The Administrator's Role in a Writ-ing/Thinking Program," in A Emiitionla's conft.Irs.:nct/nWriting,Thinhing in thcCurrisailinn,Resource materials used at Concurrent Sessions of meeting of the Mississippi Azsociation for Super-vision and Curriculum Development, May 1987, Jackson, MS.

Page 28 Southeastern Education& Improvement Laboratory

Figure 2.2A Comparison of Teacher and Student Behaviors

When Writing Is Assigned and When Writing Is Taught

When Writing is Assigned1. The teacher asks the student to write on onetopic from a list.2. The topic is general and unstructured.3. There is no specific audience.4. The topic allows for general thinking.

5. The purpose is vague.6. The student writes for a grade.

7. The student is asked to write spontaneousb.

8. Time and/or work limit is imposed.

9. A first draft is required for a grade.

10. There are negative comments.11. Corrections are usually for mechanical er-rors.

12. All errors are corrected by the teacher.

13. Teacher's tine is spent correcting papers.14. Student is unsure of how grade evolved.15. Student is unaware of significant changes.16. Student and teacher are bored by thestudent's writing.

When Wrilkki is Taught1. The teacher encouraees the student to writeprecisely and effectively.

2. The topic is specific and structured.3. There is a clear audience.4. The topic for :es precise thought and sup-porting details.5. The purpose is specific.6. The student writes to improve ability to ex-press precisely.7. The student is encouraszed to think about thetopic.8. The student evaluates purpose, then per-ceives the amount of work needed to fulfill it.9. Student encouraged to review and rewritethe first draft.10. Comments are positive and constructive.11. Recommendations include suggestions forimprovement in style, format, and organizationof thoughts.12. Only specific errors are corrected by theteacher.13. Teacher's time is spent in class, teaching.

14. Student earns and understands the grade.15. Student sees changes.16. Student and teacher are excited bystudent's writing.

Cecelia Kingston. Competency Testing and Beyond. (Conference presentation, May 1979). From dGuide to the Teacher's RoleinAie Writinghogram: Report No. CS 207 199 ( p. 17) by Nancy S.Haugen, John M. Kean, and Maribeth Mohan, eds., Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison,1981 (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 220 865).

r


SETTING GOALS AND CLARIFYING PARAMETERSOF CHANGE

Before beginning a writing development program, the local context for change should be assessed.Participants should understand how their own priorities and roles fit into the total context forchange. Questions such as these can be considered:

How does the proposed program development fit into district and school priorities? Are thereother commitments, to physical plant or to other curriculum areas, that will limit resources forthis program?

How do the beliefs of the school board and central administration relate to the underlyingbeliefs of the proposed program?

Are there preset time limitations on the improvement project?

Will schedules, teacher assignments, and allocation of resources have to be changed to ac-complish the proposed improvements? If so, what points of resistance will have to be over-come?

How do texts and evaluation instruments currently in use relate to the proposed programs?

What district and school funds are available to support the staff development program?

What district personnel could be used as instructional resources?

What scheduled in-service days are available? Will a summer planning group be supported bythe district?

What support can be gathered among parents and other members of the community?

Are there professional meetings that teachers and administrators Lan attend to gain expertise

and conviction for the project?

Is there a supporter network of teachers nearby who arc already making changes similar to

the ones proposed?

What outside consultants are mailable to assist the project? Do they have expertise in theprocess of change? In content information?

When a teacher committee, pros ides the leadership for change, members may need to work with theadministration to understand building and district %ariables that may impaa on the project. Overlypositive or negative attitudes toward institutional %ariables can be addressed, and a positive climatefor productive work created. A survey instrument, such as the one shown in Figure 2.3, can be usefulfor assessing teacher knowledge/attitudes toward support for writing programs. Capper andBagenstos (1987) suggest that such an assessment instrument can he used in several ways:

For an administrators' own objective use.

With a task force for assessing program support.

At a faculty meeting, with all teachers filling it out.

To be filled out by English teachers.

r "4


Figure 2.3Assessing District- and School-Wide Support for Writing

Criteria Response

Yes No

1, DL 2s the district provide sufficient time and money for in-ser-%Ice programs related to the teaching of writing?

2. Does the district provide sufficient funds for the purchase of in-structional materials that teachers need to improve student writ-ing?

3. Does the district provide sufficient funds to support studentnewspapers and student magazines?

4. Does the district have a written statement of policy governingthe content and dissemination of both school-wide and classroompublications?

5. Does the school make systematic efforts to inform parents aboutits writing program and to solicit parent involvement in the im-provement of that program?

6. Do school administrators write frequently and share their writ-ing with members of the staff?

7. Do school administrators support the requests of teachers to at-tend conferences and professional meetings concerned with theteaching of writing?

8. Do school administrators encourage teachers to arrangeprograms in which professional writers and others who use writingin their careers speak to students about writing? And do ad-ministrators provide time and funds for such programs?

9. Does the school help teachers, students, and parents value theimportance of writinp by displaying student writing and providingsuitable recognition for excellent student writers?

10. Do school administrators encourage teachers to publish class-room newspapers and magazines and to make other suitable arran-gements for the informal dissemination of student writing?

11. Do school administrators encourage all teachers (not justEnglish teachers) to be responsible for developing student writingabilities and to cooperate in establishing school-wide programs forimproving student writing?

12. Do teachers in all the academic disciplines require students towrite, both as a way of learning and as a way of assessing learning?

3


What aspects of the distriLt- or school -wide support Ior the teachine. of %%ruing deserve special corn-mendation"

1

3.

What aspects of the district- or school-v*idt. support for the teaching of N% riling rcquire greatest im-

provement?

1.

3.

From Allan A. Glatthorn WrilinginAhrosilsimprovement Though Effelme Leadership (pp12-13), Reston, VA.: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1981.


Build Initial Interest anG Commitment Among theFaculty

In this phase of the improvement project. the suggestions of Hord and her assoeates at what theycall "Stage U" of school change, the stage of devaloping awareness. can be helpful:

Stage 0Awareness Concernsa. If possible, involve teachers in discussions and decisions about the innovation and its implementa-

tion.

b. Share enough information to arouse interest. but not so much that it overwhelms.

c. Acknowledge that a lack of awareness is expected and reasonable, and that no questions about theinnovation are foolish.

d. Encourage unaware persons to talk with colleagues who know about the innovation.

e. Take steps to minimize gossip and inaccurate sharing of information about the innovation.

A short workshop series of two or three presentations by teachers who have experience with writinginstruction can demonstrate to faculty the possibilities of program development. Such workshopsshould involve teachers both in new concepts about writing and in the practical skills that will beneeded. Selection of workshop topics should be based on expressed teacher concerns so that theywill know that they will receive assistance in solving the problems they identify in the writingprogram.

A questionnaire to assess faculty preferences for in-service topics such as the one in Figure 2.4 givesteachers the opportunity to report their own instructional needs as a basis for these. initialworkshops. Such an approach serves to ensure teaeliers sense of ownership of the ultimate plan acidemonstrates the administration's willingness to include teachers, not just as knowledgeable par-ticipants in improvement programs, but as deec>ion-making professionals who expect reasonableautonomy in responding to needs of pupils.

Support for individual in- service experiences. such as conferences, graduate level courses. and visitsto other schools. is desirable to stimulate teacher interest in development. Opportunities forteachers to meet together to share reactions and concerns, within ill.. school Ideality and among facul-ties in other similar schools in the district. also meet teacher needs to express anxieties, clarify mis-conceptions. and communicate enthusiasm and expertise. One district has had success with -profes-sional sharing" at district in-service meetings. without external speakers or .1 set program - justteachers sharing with each other.

Developing School Willing Programs Page 33

Figure 2.4Survey of Preferences for Program Content

Directions: Listed below are the topics and activities that are often included in the in-serviceprograms related to the teaching of writing. Indicate your preferences for each kind of content andactivity by circling one of these symbols:

SA I strongly agree that this content or activity should be included.

A I agree that this content or activity should be included.

? I am uncertain as to whether or not this content or activity should be included.

D I disagree that this content or activity should be included.

SDI strongly disagree that ''tis content or activity should be included.

1. Understanding the composing process and its implications forteaching.

2. Developing a composition curriculum for our school.

3. Knowing and applying research in the teaching of writing.

4. Developing composition assignments.

5. Motivating students to write.

6. Using prewriting activities to improve student writing.

7. Helping students learn to revise.

8. Developing sentence-combining materials.

9. Using holistic assessment to make school-wide evaluations of stu-dent writing.

10. Grading and responding to student writing.

11. Using peer conferences to improve writing.

12. Implementing a naturalistic or "writer's workshop" approachto student writing.

13. Publishing and sharing student writing.

14. Doing our own writing and sharing our writing with each other.

15. Teaching specific writing skills.

16. Facilitating creative writing.

17. Relating the study of grammar to the development of writingskills.

4

SAA? DSD

SA A ? D SD

SAA?DSD

SAA? DSD

SA A ? DSD

SAA?DSD

SAA?DSD

SAA?DSD

SA A ? D SD

SAA?DSD

SA A ? D SD

SA A ? D SD

SAA? DSD

SAA?DSD

SAA?DSD

SAA? DSD

SA A ? D SD


18. Helping less able students improve their %%thine. SA A ? D SD

19. Improving writing in other school subjects. SA A ? D SD

20. Working with parents to improve student %%ritine. SA A ? D SD

Other: (Please list any other content you believe should be included.)

From Allan A. C;latthorn. Writingin the SchtLoL.Improvement Through Effective Leadership (p.25), Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1981.


4,0

STAFF DEVELOPMENTSuccessful staff development programs Londucted by the National Writing Project, the Bread LoafSchool of Writing, and other centers of writing instruction involve teachers and administrators intheir own writing and unite theory and practice in a way that supports teachers as intelligent profes-sionals in program development.

Writing becomes valued in schools when all school staff experience the meaning that purposeful writ-ing can have in their own lives. They begin to understand the problems of student writers more realis-tically when they reflect on the processes that work for them as writers. Teaching writing as aproblem-solving activity requires instructional flexibility on the part of teachers, and they need timeto understand how they can put it into practice in their individual context.

Spanjer and Boiarsky (1981) describe a ten-step staff development program for writing instructionbased on the experiences of teacher.: in similar programs. The assumptions underlying this approachemphasize the centrality of teachers as experts and the importance of engaging all teachers in theschool in activities that will assist their understanding of writing processes.

The interesting approach to consultant presentations, called the "DO-LOOK-LEARN" method, isespecially appropriate when teachers are learning new writing instruction strategies that involvecomplex teacher-student interactions based on unfamiliar beliefs about how students learn. The DO-LOOK-LEARN method provides both for acquisition of practical teaching strategies and for reflec-tion on the belief structure that supports these strategies.

The staff development program is based on the following assumptions:

1. Faculties are aware of their on teaching needs. They are capable of developing their own staffdevelopment programs for acquiring knowledge and skills to meet thus,: needs without the helpof outside specialists.

2. The best teacher of teachers is another teacher who has had success in a similar situation. Thepractices of these successful teachers can be effectively demonstrated to others.

3. Teaching writing is the responsibility of teachers of all subjects, not just those of language arts.Writing should be integrated with all subject areas.

4. Processes of prewriting, drafting, and rz%ising arc the basics that must be mastered. To under-stand fully the processes of writing and to lead students effectively through these processes,teachers themselves must write.

The ten steps of the staff development program are:

1. Enlist the support of the school principal.

2. Inform all faculty members of the school's interest in an effective writing program.

3. Through a faculty meeting, determineisolicit teachers to participate and/or present a program to

develop their skills in writing instruction.

4. Compile a bibliography on writing with the help of the librarian/media specialist to be used byprogram participants. (An annotated bibliography,Writing Teachers' Resources for ProfessionalLiteracy, is available from the Southeastern Educational Improvement Laboratory.)

5. Identify successful teaching methods by soliciting at least one idea from each participant in the

form of a short written description.

43Page 36 Southeastern Educational Improvement Laboratory

6. Sequence these ideas according to the place they fit using the following headings: the writingprocess, prewriting, drafting., re% ising. teaching the mechanics, small-group work, the teacher'srole, writing in the content areas, and sequencing writing. Note that if one of the headings doesnot have any teacher ideas under it. then it may he necessary to have a guest presenter share ideas.

7. Schedule dates for the year for each presentation based on the headings listed above.

8. Make a copy of the presentation schedule for all faculty members, cten those who have indicatedthat they would rather not present an idea or participate.

9. Each presentation is made using the DO-LOOK-LEARN method. DO is the first stage, in which,as the writing idea is presented, the participants play the role of the student and must DO what isbeing taught. LOOK is the second stage, in which the participants LOOK at research gatheredabout the effectiveness of this method. The participants must compare what they have just donewith the assumptions made in the research presented to them. LEARN is the third stage usingthe ideas they have seen presented in a lesson plan that is appropriate for their own classes.

10. Conduct workshops according to the schedule using the DO-LOOK-LEARN presentation forthe first 90 minutes and (except for the lint workshop) using the last 30 minutes to share the ex-periences of each participant when incorporating the previous workshops idea in their own class-room.

Brief survey forms, such as the ones provided in Figures 2.5 and 2.6, can be used along with face-to-face solicitation of suggestions to gather teachers' opinions at important stages of the staff develop-ment program.


Figure 2.5

Survey of Preferences for Program Design andStructure

Directions: Listed below arc features that might characterize our in-service program. Indicate yourpreferences for each feature by circling one of these symbols:

SA--I strongly agree that this feature should characterize our in-service program.

A-4 agree that this feature should characterize our in-service program.

?-4 am uncertain about this feature.

D--I disagree that this feature should characterize our in-service program.

SD - -I strongly disagree that this feature should characterize our in-service program.

1. The in-service program follows a regular schedule with a well-or- SA A ? D SDganized agenda for each meeting.

2. The program emphasizes learning practical skills that teachers SA A ? D SDuse in their teaching.

3. The program uses consultants from the outside who are con- SA A ? D SDsidered experts in the field.

4. The program gives appropriate attention to theory and research. SA A ? D SD

5. The program enables participants to develop and exchange class- SA A ? 0 SDroom materials.

6. The program makes use of lectures followed by discussions and SA A ? D SDquestions.

7. The program gives participants a chance to discuss controversial SA A ? D SDiIssues in the teaching of writing.

8. Th.: program gives participants an option about what they learn SA A ? D SDand how they learn it.

9. The program emphasizes "hands-on" activities. SA A ? D SD

4 3.


10. The program uses local teachers as the instructors, and SA A ? D SDteachers have much chance to learn from each other.

11. The program provides participants with an opportunity to see SA A ? D SDnew skills demonstrated and practice those skills themselves.

12. The program provides opportunities for observing other clas- SA A ? D SDses and schools.

13. The program provides opportunities for participants to try out SA A ? D SDnew skills in their classrooms and get feedback about their use ofthose skills.

From Allan A. Glatthorn. Writing in he Schools. Improvement Through Effectiye Leadership(p.23), Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1981.

1/4.)


Figure 2.6Staff Development Assessment Survey

Directions: Below are several statements about our composition staff development program. Indi-cate to what extent you agree with each statement by circling one of these symbols:

SAstrongly agree

Aagree

uncertain

D disagree

SDstrongly disagree

1. The staff development program helped me improve my ova writ- SA A ? D SDi ng.

2. As a result of the staff development program, I feel more confi- SA A ? D SDdent in my ability to teach writing.

3. I believe my students are writing better because 1 participated in SA A ? D SDthe staff development program.

4. The staff development program helped me become a more effec- SA A ? D SDfive teacher of writing.

5. The staff development program helped me become better in- SA A ? D SDformed about current theory and research about the teaching ofwriting.

6. The staff development program gave me some good ideas for im- SA A ? D SDproving our composition curriculum.

7. The staff development program enabled me to work effectively SA A ? 13 SDwith my colleagues on problems we share.

From Allan A. Glatthorn. W, ritingive Leadership(p.26). Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1981.

4-A I--1

i

Page 40 Southeastern Educational Imprnvement Laboratory

District LevelCentral office administrator leadership, including commitment to the project and understanding ofits goals and direction, is fundamental to the success of of any change in the program. Fullan (1982)states that the role of district administrators is to:

...lead the development and execution of a plan which explicitly addresses and takes into account allthe causes of change at the district, school, and classroom levels (p.159).

He also suggests guidelines for the district administrator in the implementation of writing programs.

The administrator must lead a process that...

e Tests out the need for And priority of the writing program.

Determines the potential appropriateness of the writing program for addressing the need.

Clarifies, supports, and insists on the role of principals and other administrators as central to

the writing program.

Ensures that direct implementation support is provided in the form of available qualitymaterials, in-service training, one-to-one technical help, and opportunities for peer interac-tion.

e Allows for certain redefinition and adaptation of the innovation.

Communicates with and maintains the support of parents and the school board.

Sets up an information- gathering system to monitor implementation problems.

Has a realistic time perspective (p.166).

Building LevelBuilding-levei administrators play LI central role in change efforts, whether the impetus for changeoriginates at the building or the district level. They are responsible for initiating and maintaining in-structional development programs. Building-level administrators:

Become knowledgeable about the theoretical and practical bases for the project.

Communicate with and secure commitment from district-level administrators to the goals and

activities of the project.

Coordinate delivery of district resources such as materials, in-service time, and technical assis-

tance.

o Communicate with and maintain the support of parents, the business community, local civicorganizations, and cultural and governmental agencies.

Create teacher leadership structures within the school and work with these groups as needed.

Maintain awareness of the progress of the project and teacher attitudes during change.

Create within the faculty a commitment to the project, including incentives.

Developing School Writing Programs !-age 41

Assist in eliminating Lont lieting demands un teacher time and other barriers to implementa-tion.

Promote continuing professional interaction among the staff.

Review administrative structures, schedules, use of space, and allocation of resources in rela-tion to the proposed instructional changes.

Policy Statements and Program GuidelinesClearly written district and school policy guidelines are imputant to give direction to programdevelopment. When teachers can participate in the formulation of these guidelines, their commit-ment to them is likely to be greater. These guidelines should be brief and not too detailed but shouldembody a definite philosophy of how studentslearn language.

The Department of Education in Nova Scotia (1986) states guidelines for elementary language artsprograms (including writing instruction) in two ways, first as a statement of philosophy and then, fol-lowing, as a set of objectives. The objectives do not provide a description of the content of the lan-guage arts program; instead they provide a description of the general approach to instruction.

Language Arts in Nova Scotia

One of the major aims of the schools of Nova Scotia is to produce graduates who are confident, think-ing, literate individuals. It is our aim to help students develop language fluency not only in the schoolsetting, but in their lives in the wider world.

This guide describes a holistic understanding of language learning, an understanding that is basedon a recognition that language development and learning in general are inextricably linked. Lan-guage plays an integral part in children's interaction and discovery of their world. When learners areengaged in a topic that interests them, thinking, learning, and communicating occur in a natural, in-tegrated way, and language becomes refined over time through use, not through studying discreteparts. Iii brief, learning langu:tge and using language to learn are inseparable.

It is the aim of the language art!: program at all levels to develop the four aspects of language (speak-ing, listening, writing, and reading) so children may learn to communicate effectively with both peersand adults.

Effective communication is the key to human understanding in all areas, and, therefore, there is areciprocal relationship between language arts and other components of the currieulum. Learning inthese areas is dependent upon effective communication, while at the same time learning to communi-cate is facilitated when the students are dealing with interesting topics and information from otherareas of the curriculum. Always, the focus is on meaning.

AimThe aim of the language arts program is to help children become effective users of language for com-munication, learning, and enjoyment.

ObjectivesThe objectives of the language arts program are:

1. To ensure that communication of meaning rer..ains central to all language arts activities.

iI

Page 42 Southeastern Educational improvement Laboratory

2. To provide an environment in which learners can come to %Lillie literacy.

3. To provide an emironment in v. hia Lamers ILL! free to take risks as they use: language to attemptto make sense of the world.

4. To ensure that use of language for a %ariety of real purposes has a central place in the languagearts program.

5. To provide opportunities for students to use language skills and knowledge for learning abouttopics which are useful or interesting to them.

6. To develop students' abilities to select and use the, appropriate language conventions for par-ticular situations.

7. To encourage students to review and reflect upon how they use language.

A different approach was taken in the Ferguson-Florissant School District, Ferguson, MI., in writingguidelines for a writing handbook for elementary teachers (1982). Their very brief guidelines are:

Demonstrate a personal value for writing.

Utilize a fwar-stage writing process.

Produce worthy products.

Evaluate the writing of self aral others using a suitable set of criteria.

General goals or policies may be transformed into program objectives that are useful to guideprogram evaluation anu classroom planning. Too long a list of objectives impedes the planning ofmeaningful writing experiences. Statements that are too general give insufficient guidance. Usuallythe objectives will relate to three different aspects of teaching writing:

Forms and purposes for writing (narration, business letter).

Writing ,lrocesses (rehearsing, editing).

Criteria of writing. effectiveness (topic focus, word usage).

Direction for grae.e-ieved planniag is provided by the guidelines t1:..!uped in Lenox, MA, providedin Figure 2.7. Thi., Statement emphasizes objectives in the area of writing processes for each gradelevel, as proct...)ses ,o be introduced and processes to be developed.


Figure 2.7

Lenox, MA, Public SchoolsWriting Program Guidelines, Grades One-Six

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sentences sentence moodstructure

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A list of more spec ilie ohice tine as used to pro\id, euidance in developing a spk.cial proeram forbasic writers at the secondary level by the Mississippi Writing, Thinking Institute. These objectives.presented in Figure 2.S. embod!, all uspects of writing. forms and purposes. writing processes, andwriting effectiveness.


Figure 2.8Writing Skills Taught in the Summer Youth Remediation Program

Mississippi Writing/Thinking Consortium

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53

Record keeping is d necessity when teachers arc accountable to the district adu;inisp.ation and stateagencies for teaching objectives mes that have been adopted for writing programs. At.inistrators canplay an important role in reducing teacher time spent on record keeping by prtwiding well-designedforms for student records.

In Kershaw County School District, SC, d teacher committee developed a simplified chart that meetsstate guidelines for accountability, yet is relatively easy to keep. This checklist, provided in Figure2.9, is printed on the students cumulative folder (checklists for other bask skills, such as reading,arc also on the folder). Each teacher, in turn, indicates whether instruction has been provided andplaces one sample of the student's writing for that year in the folder. A sheet of directions is in-cluded, explaining, for example. which teacher keeps the records in cases where several teachers mayprovide instruction.


Figure 2.9Student Cumulative Folder Writing Checklist

Kershaw County, SC

(Place a check in the box under the appropriate grade level beside each category for which instruc-tions has been provided. This is not a mastery checklist.)

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CLASSROOM PLANNINGWhen teachers new to teaching writing as problem solving begin planning for their classroom writ-ing programs, they may need assistance in findine compatible planning structures. In Figures 2.10and 2.11 are two samples of teacher planning. The first sample gives the guiding assumptions and ob-jectives for a combination fifth-sixth grade class in which the teacher initiated a new program in-tegrating writing into all subject areas. The second example is a year-long plan designed by a district-wide committee to be used by individual primary-level teachers as a basis for classroom planning.This plan incorporates forms, topics, and processes of writing with the total language arts program.It meets statewide and district guidelines and incorporates objectives from existing textbooks and theCalifornia Test ofBasie Skills testing program used in this district.


Figure 2.10Guiding Assumptions and Objectives for a Fifth-Sixth Grade

Writing Program in All Subjects

Overall Objective. The writing process approach and philosophy will be integrated into all subjectsof the curriculum.

I am attempting to establish a w ruing program lor 1% fifth and sixth graders that is integrated intoall of their core classes. I am basing my program upon research done on the writing process ap-proach by Donald Grapes, Lucy ( alkins. and other teacher/researchers. This program is based uponthese assumptions:

1. Writing is an important social skill that students need to master in order to do well in the working

world.

2. Writing allows children to express themsehes and, in do'ng so, helps them to explore and betterunderstand their life and experiences.

It is organized to meet the following objectives:

1. The students will be given many opportunities to write so that they may become more comfortable

with writing.

2. The students will be encouraged to write about their own experiences.

3. The students will 7ecognize writing as an ongoing process.

4. The students will be encouraged to see themselves as writers and, as such, decision makers.

5. The students will become familiar with and use the processes of writing, which include: prewrit-ing, drafting, revision, and editing.

o. The students will experiment with writing different types of literature.

7. The students will work on their grammar and punctuation through the writing process.

S. The students will establish their own standards of good writing.

9. The students will evaluate their own work and note their progress and their weaknesses.

Thanks to Cheryl Larson, Columbia, SC.

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the Primary Grades Language Arts ProgramLexington School District Two, West Columbia, SC

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Lesson plan formats for teaching writina as problem whine will need to be different from thoseused for directed teaching through lecture or textbook assianments. A curriculum development com-mittee that designs plans to share with colleagues may need to detail the processes of interaction inorder to communicate successfully the intent and procedures of the lesson. Three sample formats,one used at the elementary level and two at the secondary level, are given in Figures 2.11, 2.12, and2.13. Each format includes the skills to be taught, forms and processes of writing, teaching sugges-tions. and materials. The first plan is for a problem - solving activity as suggested by Hillocks (seeChapter 1) to help students practice problems they will in their writing at a later time. Thesecond plan is for the editing phase of composition. The ,acrd plan includes all phases of the compos-ing process, including evaluation.


Figure 2.12Sample Lesson Plan for Lead Writing Activity Summer Youth

Remediation Program, Mississippi Writing/Thinking Consortium

Focus Workshop on Writing Leads

Preparation

Materials

InstructionaLProc4syes

Journal Writing(10-15 min.)

Be prepared from staff development to modeleach type of lead for "1 remember" sentence ofyour own. Write your examples on chart paperto hang on wall as you present each type oflead.

Prewritten charts; chart paper; markers; tape.

Conduct a workshop in writing leads. Give stu-dents these instructions: Recall the last disagree-ment you had with your parent or guardian. As-sume the voice of that person, and write an entryin your personal diary on that evening after the dis-agreement has taken place. Invite volunteers toshare.

Large Group Have students get out the list of "I remember"Prewriting stat.:ments they wrote on Day 1, and choose a(10-15 min.) second one to write about.

Model your own "I remember" sentence. Ex-plain to students that a lead is the first sen-tence or first paragraph of a writing. It is theway a writer leads the reader into the writingand should be fresh enough and interestingenough to attract the reader's attention. Thenmodel an example of each of the followingleads for your sentence as demonstrated instaff development:1. A direct statement2. An anecdote3. A quotation4. Dialogue5. Surprise6. Mood

Individual Writing(10-20 min.)

Large Group Sharing(10-15 min.)

G , i

List each type of lead on the chalkboard or onchart paper as you model them.Instruct each student to choose three of theseven leads demonstrated and to write an open-ing for EL.:" I remember" sentence in thosethree different ways.

Call on individuals to share their differentleads with the class. It is impariant that allthree leads by any one student be read so thatstudents have a basis of comparison. Have theclass pick the one of the three that they feel ismost enticing to them as readers.


Figure 2.13Sample Lesson Plan for Revising and Editing Summer Youth

Remediation Program, Mississippi Writing/Thinking Consortium

Focus

Preparation

Materials

Instructional Processes

Modeling (5-10 min.)

Individual Revision (10-15 mitzutes)

Individual Proofreading(5 min.)

Small-Group Response(15 min.)

Large-Group Sharing(15 min.)

61

Knowing a Friend

Be prepared to model constructive/destructivecriticism and model combining sentences usingsamples from the transitional word sheet.

Student drafts and response sheets; SpellingChecklist; Proofreading Checklist.

Model constructive/destructive criticism inresponse. Model combining sentences.

Instruct students to revise their papers usingthe response sheets. Also refer students to tran-sitional sheet to aid in sentence combining.

Direct students to use the Spelling andProofreading Checklists for correctness.

Divide class into small groups. Ask students toread their revised papers to their groups anddiscuss the changes they have made.Each group will select a volunteer to read hisor her revised paper to the class.

Have one student from each group read his/herpaper.As each student finishes reading, ask the classto comment imsith.ely (using constructivecriticism) about the use of descriptive detailswithin the paper.Tell students to have a final neat draft of thispaper written by Day lo.


Figure 2.14Sample Lesson Plan Encompassing All Phases of the Writing

Process

Objective:To develop a class hook of unique or unusual facts about each student.

Writing Task:Write a paragraph containing personal facts that are special, unusual, or unique.

Prewriting:1. Conduct a class discussion that points out that everyone is an intik idu.il and has a special, unusual,

or unique personal fact to share. Examples include receiving a special award, being the first oronly person to do something, having traeled to a special place, being related to a famous personor having a famous ancestor, having an unusual pet, having the ability to do an unusual task, orhaving an unusual physical feature.

2. Present two examples to the class, such as the following:

John Jones, born on May 21, 1969 in St. Louis, MO, is the only grandson in his family. He hasthree sisters. His father has one sister who has two daughters, and his mother's sister has threedaughters. Jim's father was the only grandson in his generation, also.

Susan Smith and her brother and sister all share the smile birthday. She was born on April 10,1969. Her sister, Carol, was horn in 1965, and her brother, John, is her twin. They were all born

in Dallas, TX.

3. Ask the students to think of an unusual fact about themselves and write it down. Then have eachstudent share his or her fact with a small group or with the entire class.

Composing:Write a paragraph about a unique fact about oneself. Include personal facts and enough details tofully explain the unusual fact. Include the date and place of birth.

InterventionStudent can't think of any interesting facts.

Is there something special you can do? Did one of your relatives do something unusual? Have youbeen somewhere that no one else in the class has been? Have you ever seen a famous person inperson? Does someone in your family have an unusual talent?

Student has not given a complete explanation of the fact.How did you win this award? When and where did this happen? How did you discover that youhad this talent?

Student writes only short choppy sentences.Let's do some sentence-combining with some of these shorter sentences.

Student writes run-on sentences.Look at this long sentence. How could you rewrite that into two shorter sentences?

Developing School Writing Programs 62 Page 55

Assessmenti3evision/Prooting:The teacher meets with each student to proot read for clarity. correct spelling, and grammar.

After all the revisions are made. the student %rites the paragraph on an 8 1,'2 X 11 sheet of whitewriting paper, using black felt-tipped pens. &k the paragraph, some illustration with markers willadd color and interest to the page.

Evaluation:Combine pages from all students into a book for the classroom or school library. If possible,laminate the pages to prevent tearing and fading.

If materials are available, the book could be reproduced to provide a copy for each student to keep.

From Ferguson-Florrisant School District. The Double Helix: Teaching the Writing Process. Fer-guson, MI, 1982.


Student Perceptions Of WritingAs part 01 the continuing development of a %%thing program. interviews of student writers provide in-valuable information. Students can teach us about their own writing processes and about their under-standing of what writing is. Armed with these data, teachers can plan more re,ponsive instructionalstrategies, and planning committees can identify areas needing further development. In many class-rooms, interviews and written responses arc a regular part of the instructional program, andteachers note that students become more aware of what it takes to be a good writer when their ideasare given importance.

Glatthorn suggests a surve!, form for use in secondary classes to solicit student evaluation of the ade-quacy of the writing program (Figure 2.15).

6


Figure 2.15Survey Form for Student Perception of Writing Instruction

Directions: Below arc s,ral stah.ments about how writing is taught in the English classroom. Readeach statement carefully. Then &LI& how otten that statement applies to your English class. Circleyour answer.

Directions: Below are sevets1 statements about how writing is taught in the English classroom. Read each statementcarefully. Then decide how often that statement applies to your English class. Circle your answer.

1. The writing 1 do for English class seems usefulto me. Almost Always Often Sometimes Seldom Almost Never

2. In our English class we can choose the topics wewrite about. Almost Always Often Sometimes Seldom Almost Never

.1. My English teacner writes when we are askedto write. Almost Always Often Sometimes Seldom Almost Never

.t. My English teacner encourages me to revisemy writing. Almost Always Often Sometimes Seldom Almost Never

5. When 1 write for English class. l am given enpughtime to think about the topic and get theinformation 1 need. Almost Always Often Sometimes Seldom Almost Never

6. When preparing to write in English class. I amable to discuss ideas with my classmates. Almost Always Often Sometimes Seldom Almost NeverMy English teacner gives me helpful criticismabout the so/flung 1 have done. Almost Always Often Sometimes Seldom Almost Never

3. My English teacner praises me wro- 1 havewritten a good essay. Almost Always Often Sometimes Seldom Almost Never

9. My English teacner teaches us the skills weneed to make our papers better. Almost Always Often Sometimes Seldom Almost Never

10. In our English cla.ss,we publish wnat we navevntten in classroom newsaapers and magazines. Almost Always Often Sometimes Seldom Almost Never

From Allan A. Glatthorn. Writing in the Schools: Improvement Through Effective Leadership(p.17). Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1981.


3: Evaluation

of WritingI know good writing when I read it. So do you. But...knowingthat writing is good is one thing. Determining exactly whatmakes writing good is more difficult. Tom Liner, Inside Out

The mt. t Jai'ficult questions teachers and administrators ask about writing instruction are aboutevaluatiLg and grading. All phases of assessment are of concern to them, from grading individualpapers to assessing whole programs.

Teachers' questions often arise from troublesome situations they do not know how to handle. Theyworry about putting comparative grades on what they view as creative written products, particularlyat the elementary level. They notice that other teachers react differently to compositions than theydo, finding strengths and weaknesses that were not important in their own response to the composi-tion. They are troubled when students do not make use of their comments on papers but keep onmaking the same errors over and over again.

Above all, Englishilanguage arts teachers worry about the oppressive burden of correcting papers.They feel guilty when they don't respond to papers thoroughly enough. They feel guilty when theydon't assign enough writing because they can't get around to responding to all of it. When they hearthat the current research on teaching writing stresses the importance of frequent even dailywrit-ing experiences, they may feel that teaching writing is an impossible task.

Admini trators are concerned about how to assess the results of their writing program. How effec-tive is the school writing program? How can areas needing development be identified? They alsowonder how to gather data to interpret the writing program to all the different audiences they mustcommunicate with the school board, central office, parents, and business community. How can theyshow the strengths of the program?

FortunaL:ly, the research on teacher response to student writing has good news fur English teachers.Grades, in and of themsek es, are not crucial factors in student r, ogress in learning to write. Otheraspects of the instructional program and other kinds of teacher response are more important. Infact, it appears that not putting grades on individual papers often achieves better results than grad-ing each paper. Evaluation strategies are available that reduce the long hours of correcting, yet stillprovide students with helpful responses to their writing.

At the program level, ewluation strategies are mailable for assessing effects of instruction. Researchstudies have indicated that when teachers receive training that helps them reflect on and objectifytheir criteria for responding to writing, they can (.%aluate student writing with high levels of reliabi-lity. 1n-service time can be used on workshop sessions in which teachers discuss their evaluativestrategies and practice using alternative approaches. Many different quantitative and qualitativemeasures are available for use. Each of these measures has its own particular characteristics, ap-propriate for some purposes, but not for others.

In this chapter, evaluation approaches will be reviewed in relation to program goals and purposes.Then the recommendations for classroom evaluation of writing will be given, with emphasis on thebroad range of teacher response to writing that is associated with successful composition programs.It is hoped that administrators and teachers will select and adapt from these samples to create usefulapproaches for their own purposes.


Determining Instructional Goals and Purposes ForEvaluation

The selection of ewtluatke approaches depends on:1. The goals of the composition program.2. The purposes for evaluation.

When the goals of the program hac been dew' mined. oaluatke approaches can be selected thatbest fit those goals. For example, if the program stresses qualitative features of writing, especiallystyle, organization, and level of abstraction, then a qualitative assessment instrument that requiresthe use of actual student samples is necessary. Vocabulary knowledge, usage, and mechanics may beassessed by machine-scored, standardized measures, although this approach will not reveal the ex-tent to which students actually include effective oeabulary choices and correct spelling and punctua-tion in their writing samples.

Different types of testing and scoring procedures are needed for different purposes. Considerationshould be given to what kind of information is needed, such as data on general trends in the school asa whole (or at each grade ley el) or detailed information about each child's progress. Planners shouldbegin with the question, Who needs this information?" Some evaluative systems yield informationthat researchers can easily interpret but that would not be appropriate for parents.

In general, test results can be used in the following ways:1. To report student progress to administrators.2. To report progress to parents.3. To identify the progress that students make over a period time.4. To determine levels of student ability in order to place students in appropriate classes.5. To diagnose specific strengths and weaknesses of individual students as a preliminary toproviding individual or small group remedial instruction.6. To identify the actual steps that students use as they prepare to write, then write, and revisetheir work.7. To determine the effeetneness old particular program or instructional method that is used.

Evaluation AlternativesHolistic EvaluationHolistic scoring provides a means for determining the effectiveness of a composition as a whole inreiation to other similar compositions. It is based on the idea that the effectiveness of the whole com-position is greater than its separate components, that no components should he judged apart fromthe whole, and that all components should nd Lan be judged simultaneously (Myers, 1980, Hall,1988; Najimy, 1981). Holistic scoring invokes reading and scoring a paper on the total effect of thefirst impression. Papers are given a ranking, typically from 1 to 4 or from I to 6.

Holistic scoring is different from an indk idual teacher's impression of a composition. It involves ateam approach in which scorer., are given intensive training to come into agreement on their judg-ments. This training involves reading, scoring, and discussing a series of papers. As scorers reviewand discuss elements of each paper, they increase their ability to spot essential characteristics and be-come more objective in applying shared criteria to the papers.

Most holistic scoring procedures are "modified"; that is, they utilize a carefully developed set ofcriteria on which to base scoring. This set of criteria, or "rubric," guides the holistic judgments, sothat one set of teachers at one time and place can make judgments similar to another group ofteachers. Figures 3.1 and 3.2 are examples of selected elements for modified holistic scoring and the

Page.60 Southeastern Educational Improvement Laboratory

6"

descriptive criteria for each letel ul ranking. In this Lase. the rubric.. do doped as part of the SouthCarolina Basic Skills Assessment Program. purpose!) omits criteria such as creatiit,, mature sen-tence formation, and acLurat_. of information, %%Ilia might appropriat t. in other program -loelevaluations.

Figure 3.1Compositional Elements for Modified Holistic Scoring

(Descriptive Writing)

COMPOSITIONAL ELEMENTS

Purposet< early identified

TopiconihaassignacLinpic

Audiencesalign saed

ContentappropriatglYpts.a.detailssufficNnt amount of elaboration

OrganizationWaled focusbeginning, middle, and endsmooth flow

pmcnt

Formatimitingmechanicsword usaggsentence formation

The composition describes something or some-one using appropriate details.The composition addresses the topic requiredby the writing task.

The tone of the composition and the languageused are appropriate for the intended readers.(For example, slang could be used when writ-ing to classmates, but not in writing to the prin-cipal.)The composition uses sensory and otherrelevant detailsThe composition uses enough and varieddetails.

The entire composition is on one subject anddoes not wander.The composition introduces the topic to thereader, discusses the topic, and brings thetopic to conclusion.The composition flows smoothly from idea toidea.The composition sufficiently develops thetopic.

The composition is legibleThe punctuation, capitalization, and spellingare correct.Wards are used in the appropriate context.There is subject-verb agreement, correctpronoun usage, etc.Sentences are complete with subjects andpredicates.There are no run-ons or fragments.

From South Carolina 1/.pat t nwnt Etltkat ion. Las,hing,ankl,11.ating Macaw; for Writing. Colum-bia, SC, 1987.


Figure 3.2Modified Holistic Scoring Criteria for the South Carolina Basic

Skills Assessment Program

4 points = A more than adequate response

The composition is related to the assigned topic. It has d focus and is unified, and it has ,egin-

nine, d middle. and an end. The composition is developed and flows smoothly from idea to idea.

Errors in sentence formation. word usage, and mechanics may be present, but they do notdetract from the overall impression of the composition.

3 points = An adequate response

The composition is related to the assigned topic. It has a focus and is unified, and it has a begin-ning, d middle. and an end. The composition does not present major obstacles for the readerin moving from idea to idea.

Errors in sentence formation. surd usage, and mechanics may be present. but they do not sub-stantially detract from the overall impression of the composition.

2 points = A less than adequate response

The composition is related to the assigned topic. It is somewhat focused and unified; it maylads a beginning, a middle, or an end. The composition may present obstacles for th:. readerin moving from idea to idea.

o Errors in sentence formation, word usage, and mechanics are frequt.tit enough to detract fromthe overall impression of the composition.

1 point = A very inadequate response

o The composition is related to the assigned topic. It lat.ks fouls and is disorganized. The com-position is very difficult to follow.

Errors in sentence formation, word usage., and mechanics are Irequent ,nd serious enough todetract substantially from the overall impression of the composition.

0 points = A response that cannot be evaluated

The composition is illegible, is totally unrelated to the topic, o. contains an insufficient amountof writing to evaluate.

Blank = A paper should not be assigned a score

If the response is missing or if certain Lirt.umstances exist such as teat-her intervention, thereis no score assigned to the paper.

From South Carolina Departi,ent of Education. f eaellingAmMaingM,m.iUing, Colum-bia, SC, 1987.

6


The uses and advantages of holistic ,coring can t ,ummariled as follow,.

I. It gi% es the school district a reliable and et ticient method for evaluating large numbers of studentwriting samples. The general loci of ,tuden; ruing can be compared between classes. betweenschools. or, if consistent proccdurcs are used. with other districts or nationally establishe.d rank-ings (such as the National .A,,cssment of Educational Progress).

2. When teachers are trained to do holistic evaluation. they usually internalize the features of goodwriting and use this evaluation approach in their classroom in grading practices. A school facultycan use the shared criteria to create consistency in their grading practices.

3. Students can be trained to the holisti.: scoring informally, leading to heightened awareness and in-ternalization of criteria for good writb:e.

The disadvantages of holistic scoring are:

I. The scoring process does not pro% ide information about areas of strength and weakness in studentwriting. It therefore is not an L 'Teeth e means of provicing diagnostic information for individualstudents.

The process of training, cc ilect ing samples. and scaring is time- consuming and requires a strongcommitment Irom administration and teachers.

Analytic Evaluation

Analytic scoring of student papers involves attention to specific 'dements of each paper: the sen-tence stricture, the organization. the punctuation, spelling, and so on. In large-scale evaluationprograms, scoters are trained to use a checklist of carefully defined elements to make their judg-ments. Sometimes points are assiemed. Analytic scoring is often combined with holistic scorirz toprovide summarized diagnostic information for students who fall below designated standards.

Teacher, score analytically when they mark spelling errors, correct an error in agreement, or pointout that an idea is too %ai.tue or a paragraph is disorganized. Unfortunately, in the classroom,analytic scoring can encourage an mer-cmphasis on the weaknesses of student writing, rather than abalanced description. Appropriately used, analytic evaluation provides opportunities to describe apaper's specific strengths and weaknesses as a basis for planning future instruction or grouping.

Figure 3.3 is a detailed checklist for analyzing six different areas of student writing ideas. content,organization, vocabulary, sentence structure. spelling, and handwriting (Hatt, 1988). This type ofchecklist is particularly useful becuuse it provides realistic alternatives under each category. For ex-ample, the information (or ideas) :n a composition can be expressed in many different ways, throughhumor, logic, detailed descriptions. and so on. Any single required list of l'3W content should behandled would be appropriate for some Lompositions, but not others. Different latdors must be c in-sidered, dep.mding on whether the writing is narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive, or per-sonat'expassive. The nine items under the category "Lleas,Content" are not intended to be require-ments, but appropriate available alternatives. A fat.ulty might use such a list to de% clop their ovinchecklist based on the goals and objectives of their program.


Figure 3.3

Writing Checklist for Analytic Scoring of Student Papers

Primary Trait EvaluationAnother approach to Ltaluatinu student Lompositions is especially usetLI to eAdluate writing that hasparticular characteristics. such as letters. persuasive essays, or science reports. In this approach, achecklist is prepared based on SCLL.ltd charaLteristics of this type of writing, and the compositionsare rated based on these characteristics. An example of how primary trait evaluation is used in theclassroom is the rating seals Air persuasive letters gi%en in Figure 3.4. Thesample, used in the eighthgrade. includes secondary c ;teristics that are general to all writing, as well as the criteria ex-pected for persuasive letters.

.Varria Gnus :.0ire

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Figure 3.4Primary Trait Scoring Guide for Persuasive Lettera

Persuasive Letter Evaluation

Primary Trait Scoring Guide:

3 This letter clearly states w hat is wanted and why, anticipates objections. and meets them with logi-cal arguments. It probably would persuade your audience, because the argoments are presentedin a tone suited to them.

2 This letter presents persuasive arguments but does not anticipate the possible reactions of youraudience. It might persuade them, but then again it might not.

1 This letter would probably not persuade your audience, since it is not presented in a tone suited toyour audience and does not anticipate possible reactions or meet them with specific argr rents.

Secondary Trait Scoring Guide

2X This letter follows proper letter format, is neat and easy to read, and has no errors in spelling,mechanics, or usage. A letter like this is a pleasure to receive. Your audience will be impressedwith your writing skills.

1X This letter follows most of proper letter format, but it is not as neat and easy to read. It has a fewerrors in spelling, mechanics, or usage. If your primary trait score is high, your audience stillmight be persuaded.

OX This letter is not neat or easy to read. It has many errors in spelling, mechanics, or usage. Even ifyour primary trait score is high, your audience probably v.ould not do what you want them tosince they might not be able to read it.

From International School of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, West Africa. n.d.

Developing School Writing Programs

74:Page 65

Using Student Writing To Evaluate SchoolComposition Programs

As was discussed in the previous chapter, goals and objectives for writing programs are typically or-ganized in three different areas:

Forms and purposes of writing.

o Writing processes.

Criteria of writing effecth :ness.

Evaluation of student writing can contribute to program assessment in each of these areas. For mostforms of writing, holistic scoring is usually the preferred method for obtaining an overall under-standing of the effectiveness of the writing program. Al! students or a sample of students can be in-cluded. To provide diagnostic information about students who fall below standards, analyticalscor-ing can be completed on a selected sample of students. To assess the effectiveness of a majorprogram development or to identify specific areas of strength and weakness of an already developedprogram. analytic scales that identify strengths can be used.

Supplementary scoring of selected types of writing according to a school-constructed primary traitscale may be nee...ad to assess programs in appropriately special subject areas such as science or busi-ness education. It is important, however, not to overburden teachers with an overly ambitious assess-ment program. School evaluation procedures should be limited to what can be managed by schoolstaff during regularly scheduled staff development days.

Several publications, such as those listed in the reference, provide detailed directions for school writ-ing eval 'lion, with emphasis on holistic scoring. Central office and state evaluation personnel canalso be of assistance. The procedures will begin with planning and implementing procedures for col-lecting writing samples from students. Figure 3.5 illustrates sample prompts that could be adaptedaccording to the interests, life experiences, and ages of the students being tested.

Modified holistic criteria are developed or adapted by a teacher committee, and an initial scoringsession on a small set of papers is conducted for the purpose of selecting 'anchor papers" studentpapers that help define the upper and lower limits of the points on the rating scale. Teachers thenare given time to rate and discuss these anchor papers so they can internalize the holistic scale(Myers, 1980). The extent of agreement needed depends on the purpose of the evaluation. If the pur-pose is primarily in-service training fur teachers, they need only to come to general agreement on thecriteria. For a more formal program assessment, stringent requirements for agreement are needed,and often it is helpful to proceed with the more experienced and interested teachers who are mostsuccessful in internalizing the criteria.

In the scoring sessions. each paper reLLiN-s two readings. If the scores differ by more than one point,a third reading is suggested. Again, choices are available depending on the purpose of the evaluationeffort. If program assessment is the purpose, not every student's paper need be read. If individualstudent placement is needed, of course, all students must be included.

A consultant from a fowl college, district office, or state department of education can be helpful inplanning appropriate procedures.


Figure 3.5Sample Writing Prompts for Holistic Writing Assessment

Narration

Imagine that you have just spent a relaxing afternoon. Now you are going to write, telling yourclassmates what happened during that afternoon.

Before you start writing, you might want to think about what made the afternoon seem relaxing.Think about what you did during the afternoon. Think about how yos'r afternoon ended.

Now write your composition, telling your classmates what happened during your afternoon.

ExpositionYour local park is planning a Halloween celebration. The park director, Mr. Green, has asked foryour ideas on how to make the celebration a sut.cess. You are going to write a letter to Mr. Green ex-plaining what you think would make the celebration in the park fun for everyone in your town.

Before you start writing, you might want to think about the way to make a Halloween celebration spe-cial. Thank abou: th.. Lindh of aetkities the different people in your town would enjoy. Think abou,the ways to decorate th,. park. Think about how Mr. Green could encourage people to participate inthe celebration.

Now write a letter to Mr. Green, explaining what you think would make a Halloween celebration inthe park fun for everyone in your town.

From South Carolina Department of Education. TeaLhing and Testing Manual for Writing. Colum-bia, SC. 1987.


Observation Of Writing Processes To EvaluateSchool Composition Programs

An observational approach is r!setul to assess student writing processes. Glatthorn (1981) hasdeveloped observational forms especially designed for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness ofwriting programs at all grade levels.

Using an observation form such as the ones prol.ided in Figures 3.6 and 3.7, peer observers andteachers can work together to provide linkages between what the teacher intended to have happenand what actually occurred in the classroc:n. This kind of ,,bservation can help a teacher gather dataon his/her own teaching and provide the basis for faculty discussions of the status of their vvritingprogram. It is important, of course, that such an observation not be conducted for the ptirpose of offi-cial teacher evaluation.

For younger students in the elementary school an observation form such as the one given in Figure3.8 can be used by teachers on a sample of students to evaluate their instructional strategies relatedto writing processes. Include in the sample of _Iiidents all achievement levels to give information ondifferent groups of students in the classroom. Based on data from such an observation form, teacherscan identify specific objectives to address in continuing program development. When used byteachers across grade levels, it can also assist in creating a coherent school program in which eachgrade level builds on and adds to what has gone before.


Figure 3.6

Guide for Observing the Teaching of the Exploring and PlanningStages of the Composing Process

Teacner's Name Date of Observation ClassObserver

Teacher's Observer's Teacher Activity Student Behavior Student BehaviorObjective Intent Perception Indicating Success Suggesting Problems

Stimulate interest inparticular writingassignment.

Z. Help students exploresubject. topic. audi-ence. purpose. voice.

3. Help students retrieve.systematize neededinformation.

4. Help students developand apply both diver-gent and convergera.thinking skills neededin prewriting stage.

5. Help students decideon content and organi-zation and makeappropriate writtenplans.

6. Other

1011.1011.111

,........,

,

From Allan A. Glatthorn. Writing in the Schools. Improvement Through Effective Leadership (p.59). Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1981.

Developing School Writing Progrogis,--.

''/ 0

pipmgme,...011

Page 69

Figure 3.7Guide for Observing the Teaching of the Revising and Sharing

Stages of the Composing Process

Teacher's Name

Observer

Oate of Observation

Teacher's Observer's

Class

Student Behavior Student BehaviorObjective intent Perception Teacher Activity Indicating Success Suggesting Problems1. Heft) students edit each

other's work.2. He lo ciass understand

common writing prob-lems and makeappropriate revisions.

3. Give individual stu-dents the assistancethey need in makingrevisions.

4. Help students snaretheir writing with eachother.

5. Help students preparemanuscripts for finalsuomission and/orpuotication.

6. Other

ti

From Allan A. Glatthorn. Wric'ng in the Schools: Improvement Through Effective Leadership (p.62). Reston, VA: National Assn nes of Secondary School Principals, 1981.

lj


lame

Figure 3.8

Observation of Student Writing Processes, Grades One-Sixeacner Date

Usually Sometimes fever

A. Rehearsing and Planning

uses pictures to rehearse2. uses individual thinking time3. talks with others4. uses charts, "maps," and lists

uses large and small group6. plans details and style of content

plans organization of ideas

B. rafting

views first drafts as tentative2. writes fluently with confidence3. makes changes during drafting4. shares drafts with others

C. Revising

adds information/clarifies informationcnanges the focus of content

3. 'moroves organization4. adds interestOmproves style

improves sentences6. finds more effective words7. deletes unnecessary information

8. discusses potential revision with peers

9. refers to other authors' work

0. Editing

1. corrects punctuation and capitalizationat current language level

2. identifies misspellings at current level

3. corrects usage errors4. indents paragraphs5. corrects headings, margins, etc.

6. re-writes legibly

.(table continues)


Jsuaily Sometimes lever'

Sharing/Publishing

enjoys snaring drafts and revisions2. orepares work for publication

s proud of published writingpraises the work of peers

Evaluation

2.

:an describe own strengths/weaknesses:an analyze own texts:an report own writing process

LI

IIVMINOa..


What Research Says About Evaluating WritingThe results of current research on the relationship between evaluative practices and improvedquality of student writing stress that when teachers k. an emphasize strategics that focus on student in-ternalization of the qualities of effective and correct writing instead of strategies that focus on cor-rection of individual products, students make more progress in learning to write (Calkins. 1986,Graves, 1985; Hillocks. 1987: Beachand Bridwell, 1984; Atwel1,1987).

Specifically, some of the recommendations for teachers include:

1. Grading individual papers is not necessary for improvement in student writing and may even becounterproductive. The compositions, even of good student writers, vary greatly in quality, espe-cially, it appears, in periods of rapid growth in writing skill. Individual grading of papers, espe-cially with emphasis on error counts and rigid averaging for a final grade, can discourage studentmotivation to write and provide an inaccurate picture of student achievement.

2. Intensive marking of student writing, with or without corrections, has not proven to result in im-proved quality of writing. Modt.rate marking, with emphasis on patterns of related errors, can beeffective especially when eombined with one-to-one conferences about one or two kinds of errorsat a time.

3. Comments about the strengths of the writing are ctsential. In some studies, when only positivecomments were written on student papers, students made more progress than when bothstrengths and weaknesses were marked. It appears that this may be especially true for low- achiev-ing students.

4. Teacher comments on papers should be related to previous teaching. Students often do not useteacher comments because they do not understand concretely what they mean.

5. Students need teacher rcsponst.s that give assistance in finding alternative solutions to problems intheir writing.

6. Oral sharing of papers with teacher and peers is an effective method of helping students focus onstrengths and weaknesses in their papers. However, the results of peer evaluation of papers aremixed (Freedman,1987).

7. The use of lists of criteria in instruction and evaluation is effective, espeeially when students usethese lists independently as part of r-.:sion and evaluation procedures.

8. Portfolio grading, in which rev ked drafts are comparcJ. is an effective alternative to grading in-dividual papers.

When faculties begin a review of their evaluative procedures, it is helpful to examine the current re-search on evaluation, especially from the viewpoint of the part icLiar students and grade levels in-volved. The use of a SCE Of criteria such as is presented in Figure 3.9 can assist in reviewing the cur-rent status of evaluation in the school and stimulate teacher discussion. The issues addressed in thisresponse form are wide-ranging, from determining purposes t.) procedures used in the classroom.

The manner in which the objet I; .es to be assessed and the standards for student attainment arestated are important influenees on evaluation procedures. Objeetives And standards s1 ould be closelycorrelated with the goal., of the writing program and should be consistent with what is known aboutstudents' cognitive and linguistic growth as . 'town in Figure 3.10. The generalized guidelines forevaluating student writing that are given rencet the district commitment to qualities If meaningfulcommunication such as organization. clarity, elaboration, higher order thinking, and mature Ian-

Developing School Writing ProgramsIMO

Page 73

guage use. These general guidelines are then translated into arade-lcAel guidelines for holistic scor-ing such as those presence :n Figure 3.11 for grades nine and ten.

Figure 3.9Judging the Writing Constructively: Assessing the Effectiveness of

Writing Evaluation in a School Writing Program

How effectitt is your writing program in the composing process in providing for:

1. Self-evaluation at each stage in the composing process?

2. Strategies that will prepare students to evaluate their own writing?

3. Peer evaluation of each student's writing?

4. Training to enable students to evaluate effectively the writing of their peers?

5. The determination of the purpose of an evaluation effort?

6. The selection of the must appropriate means for conducting an evaluation, such as holistic, analyti-cal, or primary trait scoring`?

7. Policies that reflect consistent and regular assessment of varied writing tasks?

8. The use of student writing samples as a primary means of evaluating their writing?

9. Teacher staff development in the evaluation of student writing?

From California state Departmcnt of Education. Ittmlbstok ka..elktnning.tutElicctiv(WritingEtogram. Sacramento. CA, D)82.


Figure 3.10A Model for Evaluation of Writing Based on Student Ability to

Communicate a Clear Message

Level 1 .sot an understandable. completed message.

Level 2 An understandable message, but grossly dchcicnt in language skills.

Level 3 Not competent in one or more 'Jack-level skills.

Level 4 Competent for the grade loci.

Level 5 Demonstrates higher order skills such as interpretation, wcabulary, and sen.tenet. structure.

Level 6 Exhibits interpretive or creative thinking.

Level 7 Exhibits sustained excellence of expression.

From R. McCaig, -A District-Wide Plan for the E%aluation of Student Writing,' in Shirley Haley-James, ed. Ecrsp.o.l.h.Chs211 Writing in C;rasis:s 1.:.13, Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers ofEnglish, 1981.


Figure 3.11

Evaluation Criteria for Levels of Writing in Grades 9 and 10

Level 1Not comnetent: Content is inaueouate for the topic seiecteo.or deficiencies in tne conventions of written expression are so gross tnatthey interfere win) communication.

Levet 2Not competent: The student can express a message that can bereadily unaerst000, contains auenuate content fr selected topic,and demonstrates at least mammal command o. .entence sense. Thewriting, hov,,vver, is grossly deficient in one or more of these skills.Judged by the standards appropnate for high scnool: spelling, usage,and punctuation and capitalization.

Level 3Marginally competent: The student can compose a completedseries of ideas about a topic with a minimum of gross deficiencies inspelling, usage, or punctuation, Judged by stanco-- appropriate forhigh scrtool. The writing, however, does not contain at ieast one compe-tent paragrapn or is not competent in one or more of the followingskills, fudged by standards appropriate for high school: sentence sense,spelling, usage, and punctuation and capitalization.

Level 4Competent: The student can compose a completed series ofideas about a topic with basic skills at a level appropriate for highschool and with at least one competent paragraph. The writing, how-ever. does not demonstrate all of the characteristics of hiclalycompetent writing:

Good overall organization Good sentence struc:oreCompetent paragraphing Good vocabularyRegular use of transitions Appropriate use of subordinationInterpretive meaning (as opposed to literal writing)

Level 5Highly competent: The student can compose a completedseries of ideas about a topic with basic skills at a level appropriate forhigh school and with the characteristics of highly competent writinglisted abovz. The writing does not, however, demonstrate thesisdevelopment and does not contain critical or creative thinking.

Level 6Superior: The student can compose a completed series ofideas about a topic with excellent basic skills, with the characteristicsof highly competent writing, with adequate thesis development, andwith at least one passage demonstrating critical or creative thinking.The passage of superior writing, however, tends to be an isolatedexample.

Level 7Superior: The student can compose a completed series of ideasabout a topic with excellent basic skills, with criticsl or creative think-ing, and with a sustained vitality and richness of expression,

From R. McCaig "A Distict-Wide Plan for the Evaluation of Student Writing," in Shirley Haley-James, ed., n es 1-8, Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers ofEnglish, 1981, p. 78.

S

Page 76 Southeastern Educational Improvement. Laboratory

Classroom Evaluation: Teacher and Peer ResponseTo Writing

A person's best 'truing's oftuz all int.te.d up together with his worst. It all feels lotts to him as lu.'sbut if he will let himself Knit: u and Lome back later he will find some parts of it are em..t.11ent.... Ilhat ourstudents need first: s for us to ht.lp the to see their best words that are usuall hidden in their iturst. Savethe...criticism until later. Peter Elbow Writing Without Teachers

Providing time for students to write is not sufficient by itself to promote students' growth as writers.Teachers must also provide many opportunities for students to address the important problems offorming ideas into written language. Students are not always aware of what they have written. Theydo not know whether it is effective or has weaknesses to be corrected. They need assistance fromteachers in learning to focus on specific parts of their writing in a way that reinforces their con-fidence, yet helps them learn new skills.

As was reported in Chapter 1, Hillocks' major review of writing instruction found that teachers hadvery good results from using checklists of writing criteria with students if, of course, these criteriawere used to stimulate studen. discussion and reflection, not just as rote rules for writing.

When teac :as are in the process of changing their approaches to evaluation of IA riling, they willwant to review the procedures nd criteria used by other teachers as an aid in constructing their onapproaches. In some situations, especially at the beginning of the school year or for very insecurewriters, an open-ended response is appropriate. Figure 3.12 is a sample of such a form, used to givestudents definite written feedback and goals to work on in the future, but without the constraints of alist of criteria. Figure 3.13 shows a different approach. In this case, the criteria for the program arelisted as a basis for evaluating elementary school student samples as they practice writing in the samesituation they will face in the star '-:sting program. These criteria could be used in a studentresponse form to indicate strengths and weaknesses with space for teacher comments. Another ap-proach is to create a blank form. such as the Editing Checkli,... in Figure 11-1, and add items (endpunctuation. subject-verb-agreement) as they art: taught.

Many teachers report that st uuent response groups are more task-oriented whin they are requiredto complete a writk:n form as part of their response to writing. Figure 3.15 is a sample of such aform.


Figure 3.12Form for Recording Open-Ended Responses to Student Papers

Student's Name

Title

Strengab:

Date

Weaknesses:

Matters To Work On InNext Papsa:

Additional Comments:

From R. W. Reisin2, -Control line the Bleeding," college CA' taiposiliwund Communication. 24February 1973), pp. 43-44.

80


Figure 3.13Modified Holistic Scoring Criteria Used to Respond to Student

Papers (Descriptive Writing)

Composition ElementsOrganization:

Unified Focus

Beginning and End

Flows Smoothly From Idea to Idea

Content:

On .he Assigned Topic

Has Sufficit.nt Appropriate Details

as Elaboration for Details

Audienct:

Form:

The Specified Audience Is Appropriately Addressed

Mechanics

Word Usage

Sentence Formation

From South Carolina Department Education. T.iLds.hingdnii_Testing Nlambillior_Wining. Colum-bia, SC, 1987.

Developing Sch Lol Writing Programs

21.=------------,

Pk', '9

Figure 3.14

same

Editing Checklist Form

Name of

:ate Co-Eoitcr

Title of Piece

SELF CO

EDITING CHECKLIST EDIT EDIT

iii FINAL EDITING NOTES

Thanks to Shelley Harwayne, Brooklyn Writing Program, NY.

8 7

Page SO Southeastern Educational Improvement Laboratory

Figure 3.1f.,Peer Response Recording Form

Your Name DateWriter's Name

Topic:

Content response: Listening to PaperTwo strengths for you 1.

1

Two weaknesses for you 1.

1

Editing Response:

Constructions you question:

1.

Looking at Paper

Spelling !ou question:1.

1.,.

3.3.

4.4.

Thanks to Carolyn Lowe, Irmo Mall School, Columbia, SC.

Developing School Writing Programs Page e5

Another problem area for teat-hers who are in the. process of !canine the skills o' teaching writinu asa problem-solving activ ity is giving effective responses to students in conferences Schools canschedule in-service workshops in which teachers share respurhes they have found to be effectivereview informal videotapes teachers have made of themselves in conf,trenees with students. Nan-.Atwell (1986) provides some sample responses to typical questions twat arise in her eighth gradeclassroom:

Questions That Can ile"!;)Situation Conktoce AprachesThe piece is unfocused: it covers several or Do you have more than one story here? What'smany different days, events, ideas, etc. the most important thing you're trying to say?

What's your favorite part'. How can you buildon it?

Canfergns&ApproachtsI don't understand. Please tell me more aboutyour topic. How could you find out more aboutyour topic? Is all this information important toyour reader? What parts don't you need?

SittmlionThere isn t enough information in the piece.

There's too much information in the piece.

The piece is a list of events and includes littleof the writer's reflections.

The lead holds the reader at arm's length,going on about contextual details, rather thanIntroducing the writer's thesis.

The conclusion is either too sudden or dragson and on.There are no or few direct quotes in a piece inwhich people talk.You want to bring closure to the conferenceand understand what the student is taking awayfrom the conference situation.

How did you feel when this happened? Whatdo you think about this? Why is this significantto you?

Does this lead bring ye ur reader right into thepiece?Where does your piece really begin?Can you delete other information and beginthere instead?What do you want your reader to know or feelat the end of your piece? Does this conclusiondo it? Where does your piece really end?

What can you do to show how these peoplespoke, so your reader can hear their voices?What do you think you'll do next?

Before a teacher responds to a paper, it is helpful to ash students to share their own evaluation of ele-ments in the paper. Figure 3.16 is a sample of a student response form useful for middle and secon-dary school students for drafts and finished work.


Figure 3.16Student Self-Evaluation Form

Please answer these questions for each paper you turn in.

1. What did you learn from this piece of writine?

2. What do you intend to do in the nex draft? Or, What would you work on if you had more time?

3. What surprised you in this (or the last) draft?

4. Where is the piece of writina tatting you?

5. What do you like best ,n the piece of writing?

6. What questions do you have of me?

From Carolyn Matelene. Uniersitv of South Carolina, adapted from Don Murray, n.d.


4: Writing in

Content SubjectsIf you can't put it into English. it mean.: you don't understand it )ourself J rrold Zacharias, Physicist

Recently there has been much inte zst in writing across the curriculum. A high school biologyteacher told me that for her it was because she gut tired of talking to blank faces. Now that Jeanstops during class for students to write out ideas in their own words in journals, her students aremore actively involved in the class. At first, she believed she was getting behind in the material thatshe had to cover, but then she realized that she didn't have to spend so much time reviewing. Thereports of teachers like Jean have spurred interest in writing as a part of content subjects at everylevel of schooling from elementary through college.

Writing assists thinking because it requires the mind to organize images, feelings, and information ina personal form, and it allows students to capture these thoughts for future consider :ion. Teachersfrom the Los Angeles Community College District (Simmons, 1983) compiled the following waysthat writing operated w assist (h.-acing in their classrooms. Their observations are similar to those ofteachers at all levels.

Writing makes learning active. No longer only receivers of information, students mustoriginate, synthesize, and produce.

The act of writing imprt its learning on the mind and in the memory. The use of so many sen-ses - kinesthetic in the physical act of writing, auditory as the students listen to their innervoice, and visual as they create a graphic record before their very eyes -all reinforce the con-cepts being learned.

The written record that is produced is -visible permanent, and available for instant review"(Cooper,1980). Concepts can be clarified, corrected, and elaborated in a way that oral language

does not allow.

Writing gives the students unique acces!, W their previous knowledge and experiences. It cansforth, as nothing else does, what is already stored in the brain; it mines the depths. sending ap

nuggets that the students may not knew they had until they wrote.

c Writing facilitates the learning of complex material. Like a digestive enzyme, writing can

break down new, difficult concepts into absorbable c -mpunents. StudLnts make unfamiliar in-

formation their own and connect it to what they already know.

Writing improves reading. It demands close reading of the text and familiarizes students withcertain modes, for t-x .mple, explaining a process or defining, which they practice in their writ-

ing and then recogm..e in their reading.

Teachers have noticed other positive results of writing their classrooms. In his middle-school mathe-matics class, Kennedy (1985) observed that free writing about math brought to the surface studentfears in a way that enabled him to help students relax and keep trying. -1 can't do math," wrote asixth- grade, girl. "I've never Leer, able to do it. My mom says not to worry -she could never do iteither."

Other teacners report the enormous potential for diagnosis when students put ideas in their ownwords or report their personal reactions to class experiences. Writing can reveal conceptual

9eveloping School Writing Programs Ppve 85

91

problems, misunderstandin.zs, weaknesses in preparation. as well as indhiduai insights and en-thusiasms that otherwise would remain hidden.

Haley-James (1982) belie% es that intormal writing experiences stimulate students to engage in fur-ther communication, sharing then ideas orally or rewriting to make ideas clear to someone else. Thedrive to communicate energizes the class and stimulates recollection tnd inspection of thought tofurther enhance learning.

The purposes for writing about subject matter %dry according to the differing structure of the dis-cipline ano the nature of the current learning situation. Haley-James summarizes six alternative pur-poses that are applicable to all subject areas. (For a more specific application of similar purposes forwriting to secondary social studies. see Figure 4.1.) These purposes are:

Writing to gain access to what is known. Often writing is not for the purpose of communicat-ing with others; it is, rather, writing to learn. Free writing, journal entries, semantic maps,brainstorming, and listing help students to review content, clarify concepts, organize theirthoughts, or prepare to write. Figure 4.2 is an examph: of a "map" used by a secondary studentin preparation for a written report on the concept of radiation.

Writing to preserve and express ideas and experiences. Presen ing and expressing ideas andexperiences can play an important rule in students' lives, as well as contributing to learning in

content subjects. When students write to communicate personal meanings to others, they

develop a commitment to the topic and to learning.

Writing to inform others. To inform others. students must know something themselves. Jnfor-mation can be conveyed in \ ao ious forms. written reports, instructions, directions, articles, let-

ters, and annotated bibliographies.

Writing to pei suaie others. Persuasive writing is a saluable tool in any content area. Students

who write persuasi% e letters to gthernmLnt officials about presenation of endangered species

or prepare a petition to the go.ernor for support for the arts learn by writing to persuade.When they are ubsin zessful, they have an opportunity to review their content. Perhaps theyhave not thought their points t.. nigh or organized them effectively.

Writing to transact business. When tee.Lhers link their content areas to interesting happen-

ings in the outside world. their teaching is more effective. Writing is a natural way to make this

link. As students order supplies for a chemistry eAperiment or correspond with an author, they

think about or act on the content they are studying.

Writing to entertain. Stories, poems, and scripts are remarkably ersatile. They involve infor-

mation, experiences, point of view, and imagination. The possibilities for creating well-re-

searched, humorous, and imaginati%e compositions art' endless, as are the possibilities for in-

ternalizing concepts and factual information by using them while developing and discussing

these creative products. (adapted from Haley-James, 1981)

From R. McCaig "A District-Wide Plan for the Evaluation of Student Writing, " in Shirley Haley-

James, ed., Psispectives on Writing in Grades 1-8. Urbana, 11.: National Council of Teachers of

English, 1981, 'p. 78.


Figure 4. iHow Writing Can Be Used to Learn Content and Skil:s in Social

Studies

1. Writing to invent Hvuothescs. As an initiating dui% ity, students write before studying Lontent to.

Invent a specific hypothesis for further testing by more detailed studying or reading.

State a position on a topic.

2. Writing to (jcnerate New Know ledge. Students develop new insights as they manipulate content.Some ideas are:

Write and rewrite on the same topic from different points of view.

Students share their writing orally.

3. Writing to Concepivalizc Students move from vt riling descriptive staten.e.nts to analytical state-ments to evaluative statements on the same topic as they move through a course of study:

From concrete examples to the general theme or concc( embodied.

4. `Hrting.itulonforce Learning. Students explain what the content means in a more personal vay.Same ideas are:

Write an explanation of an event (Civil War) or a condition (life of a professional athlete,worker in a certain industry, farm life) to a younger and less well-informed audience.

Evaluate a historic figure from the point of view of another figure.

5. Writing to Develop Empathy. Students develop empathetic understanihng of d condition, groupof people, or period of time:

Americans of historical impoctanLe and the principles for' h they stood can be approached

through use of a newspaper article or an obituary.

Students can later assumt, the idLntity of the subject to "get deeper' into the assumed personage

and period of time.

Adapted from Barry K. Beyer. -Using Writing to Learn Social Studies," The.S.ocial_SlinliesMay /June 1982.


Figure 4.2Student Mapping of the Topic of "Radiation" as a Study Strategy

go,/c g coma

ct 'ccmvs

1/44 I

" :Lsci

Cir7


JOURNALS AND LEARNING LOGSA learning log, sometimes called a subject journal. is an informal student journal in which studentswrite their thoughts related to the class. The writing is semiprivate. usually ungraded, so studentscan write freely, concentrating on their ideas without worrying about the eon% entions they should ob-serve in more public writing. Students write their inferences, generalizations. their individual ways ofmaking sense of the facts, their personal reactions, the connections they make between the conceptsand their own lives or previous knowledge, their applications. their evaluation, and any reservationsor doubts they may have about the material (Simmons, 1983).

In mathematics, students might write word problems or explain a mathematical procedure theircwn words. A sixth-grader wrote about square mot:

Square root is life a question that sofa, Ishat ntuoi,er tunes itself will be the number under the square rootsign (which is called a radical Onr thing to ronember is that if a number has an odd number of zeros, itis not a perfect square.

Her teacher notes that both the analogy and the reminder to herself are good memory devices. Healso comments that she is inabing notes, not taking_flotes, a crucial distinction in her thinking proces-ses (Kennedy, 1985).

Many important learning and thinking operation:, occur in journal writing. summarizing, generaliz-ing, critiquing, but, above all, making knowledge one's own by putting it in one's own words. Olevalue of this writing for students' involvement in learning touches on all aspects of teaching andlearning, as is summarized in Figure 43.

Teacher response to journals is crucial. Attention should be focused on the contet of the writing,not the correctness of spelling and word usage. A grade can be given for the quantity of writing inthe journal so that students can be given credit for conscientious involvement with it or, alternatively,for accuracy and extent of the ideas recorded in the journal. Respect should be given to expressionsof personal opinion and feeling, and comments should be positive to encourage continued engage-ment with ideas in the journal.

Teachers will have many questions about how to integrate journal writing into their current teachingstrategies and how to handle the practical management problems associated with journals. To assistteachers with these important questions, an experienced teacher who has used journals in his:herclass can be invited to give a workshop that includes both practical considerations and reflection onthe value of the journals for learning. Teachers should be encouraged to introduce journals intotheir teaching in a way that is comfortable for them, perhaps begi ning with only one class or bylimiting use of journals to one open-ended journal entry at the end of two class sessions perweek. Use of journals should he a voluntary effort on the part of the teacher. A few teachers' report-ing their successes to other teachers is one of the bet possible ways to introduce any new teachingstrategy to a school.


Figure 4.3The Value of Learning Logs

The Value Of Learning Logs For Students

1. The act of writing reinforces the conc...tpts learned.Imprints the mind and memory.

2. A log creates a visible, permanent record.Handy for review.

3. A log allows students to interact personally with course material.

4. It engages students in these learninwthinking operations:

observing applying general to specific

recording integrating new ideas with old

generalizing inferring

summarizing critiquing, questioning

S. A log provides a nonthreatening beginning to writing.

6. It promotes writing fluency.

The Value Of Learning Logs For Instructors

1. Advantages of writing without the burden of correction.

2. Awareness of what students think, feel, and understand or tail to understand.

3, Vehicle of student teacher communication that is comfortable, friendly.

From JoAn M. Simmons. Tlir,,Slioncsti2istancau LAAming A Gukls:bstukiti W.rilingAsaaulheCurricuthm,. Los Angeles: Los Angeles Community College District, 1983.


Content-Specific Writing AssignmentsNot all content subject writing is intormal. Many instructors create writing assignments specificallydesigned to focus on sheeted course objectives. For example, in Figure 4.4 are two writing assign-ments designed fur different objet.tiv,:s in se ondart social studies. In the first assignment, studentsare required to develop an organizing idea for a set of facts on American history. The second assign-ment is more complex. Students are required to elaborate on an organizing idea based on very dif-ferent audiences and then relleLt on the different frame of reference each audience brings to thetopic.

Faculties cf different disciplines Lan use in-servitx time for collaborative planning of such assign-ments as these, then monitor the results and revise as needed. They should begin with only a few writ-ing assignments to help ease the period of adjustment as they integrate new assignments into estab-lished teaching schedules.


Figure 4.4Two Sample Writing Assignments in Secondary Social Studies

Writing Assignment #1

I. Set of information:Know-Nothing PartyForeign social clubsPolitical idealsGrowth of Catholic ChurchMass migrations from southeastern Europe

II. Add three to five pieces of information to this list:

1.

3.

4.

5.

III. State your organizing idea:

IV. Write a paragraph relating at least four pieces of information from I and II above with yourstated organizing idea:

Page 92 Southeastern Edur,ational improvement Laboratory

Writing Assignment #2

I. In three paragraphs. write your response to the follow Ina )reanizine idea about immigrluts: Themany immigrants who hac-, come to the United States have made important contributions t thecultural richness of the country.

11. Rewrite your response. as directed below. addressing it to one of the following readers:

A newspaper reporter who had supported the Ku Klux Klan.

A priest in the Roman Catholic Church.

k principal of an elite private school.

o A president old large labor union.

First select a reader, and list a 1ew of his her possible attitudes toward your subject (even though youdo not know the reader). Then write your new paragraph(s).

III. Repeat the same steps. and write to a second reader.

IV. Analyze your three atatcm..nts, and dc.,cribe the changes you made for each reader. What are there...lons for those chances?

From Henry A. Giroux. --T,;achinc Content and Thinking Though Writinc." Social Education.March 1979 (p. 191).

,IMMINNIM


Essay ExamsA set of facetious essay questions has b...cn making th.., educational rounds for some time, recently ap-pearing in Jack Smith's column in the Los Angelo Tunes. A sampling of questions includes:

History-

Fhilosophy:

Biology:

Physics:

Describe the history of the papacy from its origins to the present day. con-centrating especially. but not exclusively, Jn its social. political. economic,religious, and philosophical aspects and impact on Europe, Asia. America,and Africa. Be brief, concise, and specific.

Sketch the development of human thought, and estimate its significance. Com-pare with developments of any other kinds of thought.

Create life. Estimate the differences in subsequent human culture if this formof life had been created 500 million years ago. Pay special attention to its prob-able effect on the English parliamentary system. Prove your thesis.

Explain the nature of matter. Include an evaluation of the impact of mathe-matics on science. (Simmons. 1982.)

We can enjoy the comic exaggeration of this set of essay questions, perhaps with a touch of nervous-ness as we recall our own experiences with essay exams. While these questions are exaggerations inthat they demand impossible physical and intellectual tasks, they point to the difficulty of creatingclear, focus,,:d questions that students can address in the limited time alloted to them.

Teachers can work together to practice writing focused questions that include evaluation criteria suf-ficiently detailed to guide both the students writing and the instructor's valuation. Sample essayexamination questions using key verbs, such as in the list given in Figure 4.5, may be helpful as theteachers work together. Simmons also provides questions to guide designing essay questions:

Choice Of Task1. Does the question test the students' understanding of significant course content?

2. Is the question sufficiently fut,used to allow the student to say something substantive in the time al-lowed?

3. Is the question the end point of a sequence of previous writing assignments or other preparation?

4. Does the question _Mow the student to synthesize learning, make new connections, or see thematerial in a new way?

Wording1.1s the task clarified by exact use of terms such as trace, compare, explain, justify, etc.?

2. Are any steps in the writing task spelled out clearly?

3. Is there enough context given so that the student can immediately plan his,'her answer withoutspending time figuring out the demands of the question?

4. Would it be e.ppropriate or helpful to frame the question as a simulated professional problem?


Evaluation Criteria1. Does the student know the rdatie worth of %mkt's questions or parts of questions so that he.she

can apportion his. her time well?

2. Does the student know the criteria by which his, her answer will be graded?

10 ,,


Figure 4.5Writing Good Essay Questions: Sample Statements for Frequently

Used Directive Words

1. SUMMARIZE: sum up; give the main points briefly. Summarize the ways in which peoplepreserve food.

2. EVALUATE. Give the good points and the bad ones; appraise; give an opinion regardingthe value of; talk over the advantages and limitations. Evaluate the contribu-tions of teaching machines.

3. CONTRAST. Bring out the points of difference. Contrast the novels of Jane Austen and Wil-liam Makepeace Thackeray.

4. EXPLAIN: Make clear: interpret; make plain: tell "how' to do; tell the meaning of. Ex-plain how people can, at times, trigger a full scale rainstorm.

5. DESCRIBE. Give an account of; tell about; give a word of. Describe the Pyramids of Giza.

6. DEFINE: Give the meaning of a word or concept; place it in the class to which it belongsand set it off from other items in the same class. Define the term "archetype."

7. COMPARE: Bring out points of similarity and points of difference. Compare the legisla-tive branches of the state government and the national government.

8. DISCUSS: Talk over; consider from various points of view; present the different sides of.Discuss the use of pesticides in controlling mosquitoes.

9. CRITICIZI:: State your opinion of the correctness or merits of an item or issue; criticismmay approve or disapprove. Criticize the increasing use of alcohol.

10. JUSTIFY: Show good reasons for; give your evidence; present facts to support your posi-tion. Justify the American entry into WorldWar II.

11. TRACE: Follow the course of; follow the trial of; give a description of progress. Tracethe development of tel.:vision in school instruction.

12. INTERPRET. Make plain, give .he meaning of; give your thinking about, translate. Interpretthe poetic line The sound of a cobweb snapping is the noise of my life."

13. PROVE. Estautish the, truth of something by giving factual evidence or logical reasons.Prqve that in a full - employment economy, a society can get more of oneproduct only by giving up another product.

14. ILLUSTRATE: Use a word picture, a diagram, a chart, or a concrete example to clarify apoint. Illustrate the use of catapults in the amphibious warfare of Alexander.

From Jon M. Simmons ed. The Shortest Distance to Learning: A Guidebook to Writing Across theCurriculum. Los Angeles: Los Angeles Community College District, 1983.

I 0.,'


Steps In Integrating Writing Into Subject AreasIntegrating writing into content subject teaching, is most easily accomplished gradually, with teacherstaking the initiative in their own classrooms at each step. There is no one best way to include writingin the various subjects; each teacher can select the assignments and procedures that are best forhis/her discipline and course of study. It is especially important for content-subject teachers, h ho arenew to writing instruction, to choose the most comtortable place to begin

As a first step in the change process. teachers as a department or individually should identify onearea of instruction and one ty pe of writing to use for a trial period. A civics teacher may want to:.reate one essay question for one six -weeks exam. ur a biology teacher may want to require studentsto keep journal entries during their preparation of a project for the science fair.

Change can take place in small steps, over anent/ years of development. Before producing cur-riculum documents and policy mandates, it is wise for districts to allow time for teachers to developunderstandings and skills that will be needed to implement the change. Some schools have involvedthe entire school faculty in an across-the-curriculum writing program, while others have con-centrated on a single department that is interested in making changes.

Questions Teachers Ask About Writing In ContentSubjects

How much writing are you talking about?Only writing assignments that contribute to students' mastery of course content. Perhaps a journalthat does not require teacher correction, one or ,w1) short papers with emphasis un clarity, accuracy,and organization of content, and one or two essay-test questions.

I'm not a qualified English teacher. How can I be expected to teachwriting?No one expects you to use your class time to teach syntax, grammar, or prose style. Nor are you ex-pected to correct all errors in student writing. You can work with the English teacher, sharingresponses to papers, or learn some simple techniques for responding to writing that teachers of anydiscipline can use. You can reinforce the importance of Lorreetness but not correct ur mark everyerror.

What if the students object, saying this is not an English class?Remind your students that in the outside world. Endish is not separated from other disciplines.Writing is part of the equipment neeessary tl) /unction well in the world. The ability to write a simplereport or summary, to keep a chart ur log, to write a memo, or to set forth a position and back it upis a part of college, trade, business, or professional life.

Why can't English teachers take care of all of this?Writing is a complex skill that must be continually used in all fields in order for proficiency to bemaintained or increased. If students write only in English class, their writing often regresses. Stu-dents who have not read much especially need enormous help with both reading and writing.Minority students who speak a nonstandard dialect and international students who have English as asecond language need many opportunities to practice what they are learning in English classes.

jc! 3


What about students who can get an "A" on an objective test but can'twrite well? Won't they be penalized?To maintain an "A," students should be able to spell key tams and write simple clear paragraphsabout course content. The journal prinidcs ungraded writing, practice, and students can have thechance to revise their writinu with help from the resource learning center before a final grade.

I can hardly cover my course material in the time I have now. How can I fitin writing?You make the w,ritinus,:ne the course material. It is not something separate or additional. Studentslearn course material more thoroughly when they write. Writing, will, however. take some class time.Students can write in their journals during ile, opening and ending moments of class, when you arebusy taking ro!1, reorganizing materials. or talking to individual students. They can write drafts oftheir papers in class, and then discuss their drafts as part of a re%iew or clarification of coursematerial. Writing can be begun in class and finished as homework.

From JoAn M. Simmons. ed. The Shortest Distance to Learning; A QatiehookhLWriiingAenissthe Curriculum, Los Anueles: Los Angeles Community College District, 1983.

ri,:


CONCLUSIONThis handbook arises out of both demand and supply. Increasing demo- is to alt .r traditional ap-proaches to teaching writing are being brought to bear on schools as holistic writing-sample test datareveal continuing deficiencies in student NN riting and as our culture requires higher levels of literateachievement. The years of neglect in the field of writing instruction place additional demands onschools: although teachers may have many courses in the teaching of reading, few of them have morethan a cursory background in the teaching of writing. On the positive side, there is now available aNast array of highly useful resource material that has emerged from classrooms at all school levelswhere students are successfully learning the craft of writing. It is a good time for school developmentprograms in writing instruction.

Writing was traditionally considered a skill that, at its most basic, was trivially easy to teach and, inits literate form, was a "high art" not to be expected of the ordinary student. Teachers assigned writ-ing; teachers graded writing; and, if they were sensitive to the higher arts, they inspired the few stu-dents each year who displayed "talent." Exercises from the English book were assumed to be suffi-cient as an instructional approach; it was the students' own deficiencies that kept them from becom-ing capable writers. English teachers did not create this view of writing, of course. They were merelyreflecting societal expectations. Aldous Huxley, oae of the great writers of our century, expressedthis exhalted position of writing in our culture when he called it "the highest art, one to which Iaspire."

A more democratic cultural atmosphere and twenty years of classroom experimentation has brokendown the traditional mystique or writing and allowed it to take its place as a "teachable" subjectalong with reading and mathematics. Donald Murray pioneered in identifying important characteris-tics of effective writing and devising actiNities fur students that enabled them to develop capability aswriters. Peter Elbow, in WrilinggiihouLlsachers, encouraged a refreshingly "grassroots" ap-proach, stimulating students to experiment with ways to help each other with writing problems. Thelandmark classroom research of Donald Graves and his colleagues in the elementary schoolastonished the field with the sophisticated learning diet young authors could accomplish in an en-couraging classroom environment.

By 1980, the geography of writing instruction had undergone revolutionary changes. There was anoutpouring of classroom studies reporting the discoveries of teachers who created classroom com-munities of young authors. Published student work and test scores substantiated the contribution ofthe new approaches. Today s curriculum developers can reap the benefits of the pioneeting work ofthe past decades A curriculum committee ready to embark on a development project can expectwith some confidence that resources will he available to support teachers in making instructionalchanges to improve student writing. Not just theoretical works, but detailed classroom reports,videotapes, demonstration classrooms. and in-sea-Nice courses are readily available to provide convinc-ing demonstrations of applied theory not just abet of formulas, but applied theory that can operatehand-in-hand with concrete alternatives to solve practical problems.

The next decade of writing instruction impriAement holds promise for continuing development ofour understanding at a theoretical and a practical level. As teachers listen carefuity to other teachersand as they internalize a sense of how the writing ability of children and adolescents can grow, theywill continue to make their own discoveries. It has been rewarding for the author of this handbook tolearn from the many teachers over the past years who have shared their inventive extensions of cur-rent theory and practice. Ramona listened for weeks to regular classroom teachers, then went backto her EMR class to put a message board on the wall, to designate an author's sharing chair, and toset aside a table for writers' confr,relices. Although outriders could not read all their writing, the stu-dents could and did communicate with each other in what had previously been a "too demanding"


medium. Their behavior. ht. It-manag..Iment. and reading proficiency showed noticeable improve-ment. Betty couraueouslt dared to take an entire class of "unmanageable- remedial seventh gradersto the computer Lb. believing that diet would not destroy the expensive equipment. Soon they wereworking on task for the entire period. and some returned to the Lb to revise and edit during lunchtime.

Libby, who, even .;hen she is not a mime, has a dramatic and artistic approach to life, organized aliteracy lock-up with her energetic middleschool students. Fur this school slumber party, the stu-dents brought sleeping bags on Friday evening, watched the classic film "Wuthering Heights," andtalked and wrote all through the night. Mark wanted to do more with his first-grade students whohad begun to use the classroom computers and was concerned about a large group of boys who werenot making progress in reading. After reading books by Jane Hansen and Lucy Calkins, he created amorning writing and rcadine workshop period that ended with "the group," d time for sharing andreflecting. During the fall. his tirst-erade authors wrote many books and exchanged them with athird-grade class in Ohio.

Teachers who never thought of themselves as writers are taking hold of w riting for their own per-sonal uses. The author has accumulated a rich treasury of South Carolina history through the per-sonal memories of hundreds of South Carolina teachers in writing workshops. Although their statedpurpose was to learn more about teachine. students, they fumed closer bonds among themselves asmen and women as they wrote and shared their past lives and future dreams. Some of these teacherswere always writers, and some continue to write for their own purposes. Sylvia revised a therapeuticoutpouring written after her beloved lather-in-law died. It will soon be published in a health-issuesmagazine. Margaret has started to write the history of her church, and Sherry gave informally boundfamily histories to her relatives as a memorable Christmas gift. In recognition of the importance ofteacher's voices, the South Carolina Writing Project has recently published an anthology of theirstories and poems, Rhythms, Reflections and Lines on the Back of a Menu.

The growth of these teachers, as classroom instructors and as writers, was not just an individual or ac-cidental happening. It Lame about as a result of well-planned staff development programs. Manyhours of planning and administrative decision-making lie behind each of these improved classroomenvironments and individual achievements. Although it is the teacher and the student that create in-struction, it is the larger school and district context that supports growth in the classroom.

The broad context of curriculum planning, stall development. and administrative decision making iswhat this handbook is about. It is hoped that the ideas included in this handbook will be helpful toschool committees and administrators who wish to develop their school 1% riling programs. Theguidelines and activities are meant to be suggestive, to serve as springboards for the staffs own thinking. Some schools may find material that can be used just as presented, in most cases, ideas used else-

where must be shaped to suit the circumstances and needs of the local site. In no case are the alterna-tives presented here meant to be exhaustive. Every attempt was made to include practical assistancebased on the experience of a variety of school districts, large and small, rural and urban, within thelimitations of appropriate publication length.

The approach taken in this handbook assumes that in most cases a development project will involve

major changes in curriculum and instruction. It, therefore, describes a change process that continuesover an extended period of time. The process includes time tobuild interest and "ownership" of theproject among participants, time for participants to develop a shared vision of the achievements ofthe project, and time to acquire instructional expertise and to make adjustments in administrativestructures. Not all development projects will encompass such extensive changes. For less ambitiousprojects, administrators can select from alternatives presented here those that are best-suited to

their purposes.

1(3


Just as this publication is the. Nsult of th, ,ontributions of many sdlool- district personnel, it ishoped that it will stimulat, ,..ontinuJ ,ollaboration from 1-ititioners % ho hay, undertaken or arein the process of undertaking program doelopmcnt projects. Th1 read,rs al.,. encouraged to com-municate with the author and with the Southeastan Educational Impro%,..mort Laboratory abouttheir experiences. It will assist further do,..lopim.at of this handbook to mccive feedback from usersabout the usefulness of the material incluth.d It is hoped also that us,..rs will communicate addi-tional issues that are important to current pra,..tice and will share ideas and materials that have beenuseful in their programs.

I 7Developing School Writing Programs Page 101

Chapter 1: ReferencesAtwell, Nancic. InAkt.lithIlk..Writing..&4wlin1;,,inalcauting2itlisili:six,rts,, Portsmouth. NH:BoyntoniCook. 1q87.

Calkins. Lucy. II tealtLill leading Writing, Portsmouth. NH: Heinemann. 1986.

Glat horn, Allan A. Alit sgitube Schools,Improicmenahrough.Effectivels:adership. Reston.VA: National Association of Secondary Principals. 1981.

Graves, Donald. Writing:Is:idlers aid Children aL.Work. Portsnriuth. NH:Heinemann. 1983.

Hillocks, George, Jr. Research on Written Composition: New Directions for Teaching Urbana, IL:National Council of Teachers of English, 1987.

Moffett, James, et al. Active Voices III, Upper Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook, 1986.

Murray, Donald Learnin., By Teaching, Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook, 1982.

Profiling Arnerican.Edwaitm, Princeton, NJ; Educational Testing Service,National Assess-ment of Educational Progress, 1988.

Resources For Writing InstructionHelp For Teachers: Secondary And Middle SchoolAtwell, Nancie. In the Middle; Writing, Reading. and Learning with Adolescents. Portsmouth, NH:

Boynton/Cook, 1987.

Bechtel, Judith. Improling.Bailing.anti.Ls:atning; a.H,tndbjn for TeacheiSin.E.U.Qnass. Boston:Allyn and Bacon, 1985.

Kirby, Dan, and Liner. Tom. InlhhaliaL2n(LEttidan, Portsmouth. NH.: BoyntoniC,Jok, 1988.

Ponsot, Marie, and Dean, Rosemary. EirLat Not thc_Ezu_12o.k: Writhigz.-WhatiaTcach How to

itachJt. and_Why, Portsmouth. NH: Boynton/Cook. 1982.

Proett, Jackie, and Gill. Kent. IlmaritinglraccsuruIstkuLAidandhooklaicachrs.s, Urbana,IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1986.

Romano, Tom Cleating the Way, Working with.Teenage %Vika, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann,

1987.

Rubin, Donald, and Dodd, William. Talking into Writing. Exercises for Basic Writer, Urbana. IL:National Council of Teachers of English. 1987.

Spear, Karen. Sharing Writing; Peer Response Group_urigLaEnglish !me Portsmouth, NH: Boyn-ton/Cook, 1988.

Zandman, Steven, and Daniels, Harvey. A Community of Writers: Teaching Writing ins e r

Teaching Writing: Background ReadingApplebee, Arthur N., et al. Contexts for Learnine to Write: Studies of Secondary School Instruction,

Norwood, NJ: Ablex. 1984.

I

and Senior High School. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1988.

Developing School Writing Programs 100 Page 103

Applebee, Arthur N., Lanter, Judith, and Mullis. Ina. Writing Acrossihe Decade, 1974-84,

Princeton: Educational Testing. Service,'National Assessment of Educational Progress, 1986.

Beach, R.. and Bridwell, L.S. eds. New Directions in Composition Research. New York: Guilford

Press, 1983.

Berthoff, Ann, ed. Reclaiming the Imagination: Philosophical Perspectives for Writers and Teachers

of Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1984.

Britton, James, et al. The Development of Writing Abilities 11-18. New York: Macmillan, 1975.

Dixon, John. Growth Through English; Set in the Perspective of the Seventies, London: Oxford

University Press, 1975.

Elbow, Peter. Writing With Power, New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.

Writing Without Teachers, New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.

Emig, Janet. The Webb of Meaning;asayLonAaiting T_hinking, Learning. and Teaching.

Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1983.

Graves, Richard, ed. Rhetoric and C,):npo.sition: A Sourcebook for Teachers and Writers,

Portsmouth, NH.: Boynton/Cook, 1984.

Chapter 2: ReferencesAtwell, Nanchf. In the Middle: Writing, Reading, and Lea:ningwith Adolescents. Portsmouth, NH:

Boynton/Cook, 1987.

Bay Area WrWntz Project Coordinators' Handbook. Berkeley. CA: National Writing Project,

University of Califarnia, n.d.

Bissex, Glentht, and Bullock, Richard. Seeing Curse hes: Case Study Research by Teachers of Writ-

ing, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1987.

Burke'.t, Sandra, ed. Teachers Handbook for Summer Youth Remediation Program, Mississippi

State, MS: Mississippi Writing/Thinking Consortium, 1987.

Capper, Carole, and Banenstos, Naida. gihe.Seconditing Projects as StaffDevelopment, Research Triangle Park, NC: Southeastern Educational Improvement Laboratory,

1987.

Ferguson-Florrisant School District. The Double Helix: Teaching the Writing,Process, Ferguson,

MI: Ferguson-Florrisant School District, 1982.

Fortenberry, Robert, and Burkett, Sandra. "The Administrator's Role in a Writing/ThinkingProgram." Presented at A Practitioner's Conference onWriting/Thinking in the Curriculum, Jack-

son, MI, May 1987.

Handbook for Planning an Effective WritingProgram. K Through 12, Rev. Ed, Sacramento,

CA: California State Department of Education, 1983.

Haugen, Nancy, Kean, John, and Mohan, Maribeth, eds. A Guide to the Teacher's Role in the Writ-

ing Program. Report No. CS207199. Madison: University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1981.

0:)


Hord, Shirley, Rutherford, W., Ruling, Austin. L., Hall, G. TatingCharge of Chonge, Alexandria,VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1987.

Keach, C., Stahleeher, J., Thomas. S., and Watson. P. National Writing Project Evaluation Portfolio.ERIC ED 191 065, 1984.

Perl, Sondra, and Wilson, Nancy. Through Teacher's Eves: Portraits of Writing_Teachers at Work_Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1986.

Scriven, Michael. Executive Summary of Bay Area Writing Project Evaluation. Berkeley, CA: Na-tional Writing Project, University of California, 1980.

Spanjer, Allen, and Boiarsky, Carolyn. Improving the Teaching of Writing in Your Own SchoolAStaff Development Program, Remo ,-- CS206 828 NO ED (ED 214199), 1981.

Teaching Writing, Reston, VA:National Association of Seconadary Principals, 1982.

Help For Teachers: Special TopicsBrooks, Charlotte, ed. Tapping Potential: English and Language Arts for he Black Learner. Ur-bana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1985.

Burling, Robbins. English in Black and White, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973.

Farr, Marcie, and Daniels, Harvey. Language Diversity and Writing Instruction, Urbana, IL: Nation-al Council of Teachers of English, 1986.

Heath, Shirley Brice. Ways With Words, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983.

Hillocks, George. ()bsosing_and Writing. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English,1975.

Kahn, Elizabeth, Walter, C., and Johannessen, L. Writing_about Literature, Urbana, IL: NationalCouncil of Teachers of English, 1984.

Parson, Gail. ed. Hand in Hand: The Writing Process and the Microcom uter. Urbana, IL: NationalCouncil of Teachers of English, 1985.

Rhodes, Lynn, and Dudley-Marling, Curt. Readers and Writers With a Difference: A Holistic An-proach to Teaching Learning-Disabled and Remedial Students. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1988.

Rico, Gabrielle. Writing the Natural Way. New York: Tarcher, 1983.

Rodriguez, Dawn, and Rodrigues, R. Inching Writing With a Word Processor. Grades 7 13, Ur-

bana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1986.

Srnitherman, Geneva. Talkin' and Testifying- Tie Language of Black America, Boston: Houghton,Mifflin, 1977.

Strong, William. Creative Approaches to Sentence Combining, Urbana, IL: National Council ofTeachers of English, 1986.

Help For Teachers: ElementaryBissex, Glenda. GNYS AT WRK: 6 Child Learns to Write and Read, Cambridge: Harvard Univer-sity Press, 1980.


Calkins. Lucy. The ArLskiettchinaVriting, Portsmouth. NH: Heinemann. 1986.

Lessons From a Child. Portsmouth. NH: Heinnemann, 1986.

Frank. Marjo' ie. If You're Trving_to Teach Kids How to Write, You've Gotta Have This Book! Nash-ville, TN: Incentive Publications. 1979.

Goodman, Ken. What's Whole in Whole Language? A Parent, Teacher Guide to Children's Learn-ing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1986.

Graves, Donald. Writing; Teachers and Students at Work, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1983.

Haley-James, Shirley.Teachers of English, 1981.

I Urbana, IL: National Council of

Hansen, Jane When Writers Read, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1987.

Harste, Jerome, and Short, Kathy. Creating a Classroom for_Allthors.- ailing- Writing Connec:

lion, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1988.

Moffet, James, and Wagner, Betty Jane. Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading. K-13. Bos-ton: Houghton Mifflin, 1976.

Sehickedanz, Judith. More Than the ABCs: The Early Stages of Reading and Writing. Washington,DC: National Association of Education of Young Children, 1986.

Turbill, J., ed. No Better Way to Teach Writing!. Roselle, Australia: Primary English Teaching As-sociation, 1982. Distributed in the US by Heinemann.

Watson, Dorothy. Ideas with Insights. K-6 Language Arts. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers

of English, 1988.

Resources For Planners: Instructional ImprovementBissex, Glenda, and Bullock, Richard. Seeing for Ourselves: Case-Study Research by Teachers ofWriting. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1987.

California State Department of Education. Handbook for Planning an Effective Writing Program.

Sacramento: California State Department of Education, 1982.

Daniels, Harvey, and Zcmelman, Steven. A Writing Project: Training Teachers of CompositionFrom Kindergarten to College. Portsmouth. NH: Heinemann, 1985.

Fulian, M. The Meaningoladnutional Change New York: Teacher's College Press, 1982.

Glathorn, Allen. Limit:tat= Rcnoul, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum

Development, 1987.

Hall, Gene, and Hord, Shirley. Change inIchoo1s-EacilitatingthePiace5s, Albany, NY: StateUniversity of New York Press, 1987.

Hanson, Philip. Learning Through Groups- A Trainer's Basic Guide, San Diego: University As-

sociates, 1981.

Harste, Jerome, Woodward, V.A., and Burke, C.L. Language Stories and LiteracyLessons,

Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1984.

1 1


Hillocks. George. Jr. R.ssearaonWritteulituntiosition. Nev. DirsSliailhblislitChillg, Urbana. IL:National Council of Teachers of English. 1986.

Hord, Shirley, Rutherford. W., Huling, Austin. L., and Hall. G. Taking Charge of Change.Alexandria, VA.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 1987.

Jensen, J.M. Composing and Comprehending. Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse. 1984.

Lindentann. Erika. A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers. 2nd ed. New York: Oxf:aci University Press,1987.

Macrorie, Ken. Telling. Writing. 4th edition, Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1985.

Mohr, Marian, and Maclean, Marian. Working Together: A Guide for Teacher-Researchers. Ur-bana, NY: National Council of Teachers of English, 1987.

Murray, Donald A Writer Teaches Writing, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1968. (Revised edition,1985).

National Assessment of Educational Progress. Princeton, NJ:Educational Testing Service.

Newkirk, Thomas, and Nancie Atwell, eds. Understanding Writing: Ways of Observing, Learning,and Teaching-2nd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1988.

. II I I

Shaughnessy, Mina. Errors and Expectations. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.

Swap, Susan M. Managing an Effective In-Service Program. New York: Teacher's College Press,1988.

Writing, Composition, and Rhetoric. In Encyclopedia of Educational Research 5th ed. Vol. 4, pp.2021-36. NY: Free Press, 1982.

Tate & Corbett. The Writing Teachers Sourcebook, New York: Oxford Press, 1981.

Chapter 3: ReferencesAtwell, Nancie. In the_Middle: Writing. Reading. and Learning With Adolescents, Portsmouth, NH:Boynton/Cook, 1987.

Beach, Richard, and Bridwell, Lillian. eds. New Directions in Composition Reatitrsh New York:Guilford Press, 1984.

Calkins, Lucy. The Art of Teaching_Wailing, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1986.

Elbow, Peter. Writing Without Teachers, New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.

Freedman, Sarah. Response to Student Wrt...1= Urbana, IL.: National Council of Teachers of

English, 1987.

Glathorn, Allen A. Writing in the Schools: Improvement Through Effective Leadership. Reston,VA: National Association of Secondary School Pricipals, 1981.

Graves, Donald. "Presentation at the National Council of Teachers of English Conference," NewYork City, 1985.

Developing School Writing Programs112

Page 107

Hall, Janice. EsithiaingAnaimproing Written Expression: A Practical_Guide for Teachers, Bos-

ton, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1988.

Hillocks. George, Jr. Research on Written Composition: Nee Directions for Teaching. Urbana, IL:

National Council of Teachers of English, 1987.

Kirby, Dan, and Liner, Tom. Inside Out (1st Ed.), Portsmouth. NH: Boynton;Cook, 1981.

Myers, Miles. A Procedure for Writing Assessment and Holistic Scoring. Urbana, IL: National

Council of Teachers of English. 1980.

Najimy, Norman = 'tudents' Expository Writing,Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1981.

South Carolina Department of Education. leachingandiegingManualiprWriting. Columbia,SC: South Carolina Department of Education, 1985.

Resources For Planning EvaluationBeach, Richard, and Bridwell, L., eds. New Directions in Composition Research. New York: Guil-

ford Press, 1983.

Becker, G.1944, 1972.

Is II/ SS 1 s to English Composition Instruction.. ERIC ED#

Bernstein, Ruby, and Tanner, Bernard. The Californiz HighSchool Proficiency Examination;

Evaluating the Writing Simples, .:rkeley, CA: Bay Area Writing Project, 1977.

Breland, H The Direct Assessment of Writing Skills: A Measurement Review, College Board

Report No. 83-6. Princeton, NJ: Educational TestingService.

California State Department of Education. Handbook for Planning an Effective Writ:ng Program,

Sacramento: California State Department of Education, 982.

Committee on Writing Standards. -Standards for Basic Skills Writing Programs." Urbana, IL: Na-

tional Council of Teachers of English, 1978.

Davis, Barbara G., Scrivcn, Michael, and Thomas, Susan. The Evaluation of Composition Instruc-

tion, 2nd ed. NY: Teacher's College Press, 1987.

Genishi, Celia, and Dyson, Anne H. Language Assessment in the Early Years. Norwood, NJ: Able;

1985.

Hall, Janice. Evaluating and Improving Written Expressi3n: A Practical Guide for Teachers. Bos-

ton, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1988.

Myers, Miles.Council of Teachers of English, 1980.

1 11 1 1 At

er-Res 1 H

cii of Teachers of English, 1985.

Ruth, L., and Murphy, S.Able; 1986.

I

1 1 A

1_ 1 1

o stt

Urbana, IL: National

Urbana, IL: National Conn-

Norwood, NJ:

Simmons, JoAn M., ed. The Shortest Distance to Learning., A Guidebook to Writing Across the Cur:

riculum, Los Angeles: Los Angeles Community College District, 1983.


113

Spandel, V., and Stiggins. R. Direct Measures Writing Skill: Issues and Applications. Rev. Ed,Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 1981.

References For Chapter 4Cooper, Charles. "Why Write? Summary of an Address to an Asilomar Conference on Staff Develop-ment and California Writing Projects." 1980.

Haley-James, Shirley, ed. Perspectives on Writing in Grades 1 8. Urbana,IL: National Council ofTeachers of English, 1982.

Kennedy, Bill. "Writing Letters to Learn Math." Learning. (February 1985) pp 59-61.

Simmons, J.M., ed. 'T,..Slioriestiais I 1.. II II

rieulum. Los Angeies: Los Angeles Community College, 1983.Writing Across the Cut-

Resources For Writing Across The CurriculumFulwiler, Toby, ed. The Journal Book. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1987.

Fulwiler, Toby, and Young, Art, eds. Language Connections: Writing and Reading Across the Cur-riculum. Urbana, IL.: National Council of Teachers of English, 1970.

Gere, Anne Ruggles, ed. Roots in the Sawdust: Writing to Learn Across the Disciplines, Urbana, IL:National Council of Teachers of English, 1985.

Gclub, Jeff. Activities to Promote Critical Thinking: Classroom Practices in Teaching English Ur-bana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1986.

Mayher, John, Gordon Pradl, and Nancy Lester. Learning to Writ °riting to Portsmouth,NH: Boynton/Cook, 1983.

Simmons, J.M., ed. Theaortest_aistaustearning; A Guidebook to Writing Across the Cur-riculum, Los Angeles: Los Angeles Community College, 1983.

Staton, Jana. 12ialoguelournalCommuaication: Classroom Linguistic, Social and Cognitive Views,Norwood, NJ: Albex, in press.

Tchudi, Stephen. Teaching Writing in the Content Areas. Volumes 1-3 Elementary (with SusanTchudi): Middle School (with Margie Huerta). High School (with Joanne Yates), Washington, DC:National Education Association, 1983.

Thaiss, Christopher. Language Across the Curriculum in the Elementary Grades. Urbana, IL: Na-tional Council of Teachers of English, 1986.

Totten, Samuel. Teaching Social Issues in the English Classroom. Urbana, IL. NationalCouncil of

Teachers of English, 1986.

Walvoord, Barbara. Helping_audeuts Write Wel,,LauideforThachsaiia±11Miscipline,s, NewYork: Modern Language Association, 1986.

MN&


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